Missing Piece
by Ana the Romantic
Summary: As Ruby she always felt lost, as Red was just trying to find her missing piece. She never knew that she would find what she was looking for in the presence of the town conscience. RedCricket with a bit of Rumbelle and a dash of possible CaptainSwan
1. Prologue

**A/N**: Hello everyone! I seriously should not be writing another fanfiction (I seem to stop concentrating on my school work when I start a new one), but there is not enough RedCricket out there and it is an incredibly cute coupling- at least in my opinion. Thus, this fiction was created! This fiction was started right after the "Child of the Moon" episode, so please keep that in mind as many plot points will be disregarded and changed from where the show is now. Yay for AU! Enjoy and please review, dearies!

**Disclaimer****:** I do not own the characters or the show plot of Once Upon A Time, I only like to play with the characters for a little while. I am doing this for my own enjoyment and that of my readers, but I am not getting paid for it. Please, no sue.

**Summary**: As Ruby she always felt lost, as Red was just trying to find her missing piece. She never knew that she would find what she was looking for in the presence of the town conscience. RedCricket

**The Missing Piece**

**Prologue**:

"_I know I am not your first love, but I hope I will be the last for you._"

~Anonymous

**Twenty-Eight and a half years ago…**

Jiminy Cricket was never one to complain, but as he hopped along the roadside he couldn't help thinking that it was a long trip for one of such little stature. The small village at the opposite end of the roadway was where many of the guests of royals stayed. As one of their most important guests he was offered room at the castle, but he denied it, much rather staying in the village- one that reminded him of where he came from. He huffed and looked over his green shoulder toward the wings on his back. They were still wet thanks to the woman who threw a cup of water at him when he asked, politely, not to step on him. He should have known better than to have Gepetto go ahead with young Pinocchio.

He heard more footfalls approaching and scurried to the side with an exasperated sigh. The last thing he needed was a repeat performance and another cup of water. Then the footfalls stopped right behind him and he turned to see the individual.

It was a woman; he was sure by the corseted waist and the fair skin that he spied under her dark hood. She stood and looked at him as her head cocked to the side under the red material as if trying to understand the small being below her. She examined him and he tugged on his jacket to make sure he was somewhat presentable to be in front of a lady. She hummed and chuckled a little to herself.

"I never thought I'd see the day where insects would wear clothing," she said in a near whisper and he heard the smile in her voice.

"Well, I am no ordinary cricket," he said back and she jumped a little in surprise from the voice. It was his turn to chuckle and he nodded with a swift bow he had perfected as a cricket, "Jiminy Cricket, m'lady."

She hesitated for a moment and then pulled back her hood to reveal herself. Jiminy had to hold back his gasp for though he didn't know what he expected of the woman, he definitely didn't expect the beauty that was revealed. Dark brown hair, nearly black cascaded from around her shoulders, ruby red lips surrounded white teeth and her light green-gray eyes, nearly silver in the light of the nearly full moon, shone down at him. Then her lips spread over a slight smile and her face seemed to glow.

"They call me Red," she introduced herself and knelt down in front of him, "You have to be the most polite and well spoken cricket I have ever met."

"I-I thank you for the compliment," he stuttered and moved his megaphone a little in his front since it began to hang strangely over to one side.

"I am guessing that not many people could hear you without that," she pointed to the contraption.

"No one except those who are as small as I," he nodded and shrugged it on his tiny shoulders once again.

"Or maybe ones with extraordinary hearing," she rolled her eyes to one side and then nodded at him, "Try to talk to me without it."

He was the one to tilt his head to the side that time, but did as she asked. He was very inclined to give into any demands she may have of him. He put the small, yet effective machine on the ground and looked up at her.

With a sigh he put a cricket hand to his chin, "Now, what to say…"

"I heard that just fine," she smiled and laughed at what she supposed was a surprised look on his face. She quickly pulled at one of her ears, "I told you, extraordinary hearing."

He felt like his mandibles were just waving awkwardly in the air and his hands slightly wavered.

"So, Mr. Cricket," she started since she felt he was a little surprised by her gift of hearing even the smallest of noises- or voices, "Where are you heading to on this night? Not to talk an exceptional cricket down, but this road could be a very long trip for one of such small stature."

His black eyes flicked up to her in surprise. It was as if she could read his mind. He shook himself out of his stupor and looked back up at her.

"Jiminy, please," he put a hand on his chest and bowed his head at the request that she call him by his first name. She nodded in agreement and he continued, "I was on my way toward the castle. I am to meet with a council of sorts and my companions went ahead."

"Ah, my companion also went ahead of me on a carriage for the trip up the castle way… so you are to help with the problems that we are all to face. A clever cricket indeed," she nodded in understanding and held out her hand toward him, "Than you are going my way. Would you mind some company or a ride on a shoulder?"

"As much as I am opposed to intruding on you, I am quite tempted as my wings are not yet dry to fly the rest of the way," he looked at her hand and put a small hand on one of her fingers, "And I have to say the company does look tempting to stay in as well."

"Well spoken and a charmer," Red smirked at him and nodded to her hand, "Come along, Jiminy. We don't want to keep their majesties waiting. Snow already has enough stress with the baby on its way. From the sound of that rather impressive promise, the Evil Queen is trying to capture us all."

"Take all our happiness away," he agreed and hopped into her hand. She placed him on her shoulder, just to the side of the hood. She also picked up his megaphone and put it safely in her pocket at her belt, "Thank you again for the ride, Miss Red."

She giggled at the formality, "Really, if I am to call you Jiminy, I must require you call me Red. I don't know if you can tell, but I think that you and I will get along well, and I refuse for my friends to call me Miss."

"As you wish, Red," he agreed and felt his mandibles try to shift into a smile.

"Thank you," she sighed and stood up as they walked their way to the castle, "How do you know their majesties, Jiminy?"

"I guess I could be known as an advisor of sorts," he explained, "They- along with many others- ask me of my thoughts. I give them freely. I helped James out of a couple of binds and I also knew Snow White from a past time when she wasn't aware of some memories and wasn't herself. The dwarves brought me to her to try and talk some sense into her."

"I remember when Grumpy told me when she forgot about James," Red nodded, "She _wasn't_ herself."

"And you?" he asked, eager to know more of the woman that had miraculously found him at the side of the road, "How do you know their majesties?"

They talked for the hour it took for her to walk up to the castle. They found that they always passed by one another in their dealings with the Charmings, but seeing as he was always so small, he was easy to overlook, no matter how clever he was. She had found that he had great advice for nearly anything and everything. He was wise and knew about the people from not only their kingdom, but from the kingdoms surrounding as well. He found out about her friendship with Snow White and how she had a soft spot for canines. She lived with her grandmother now, her parents lost to her long ago.

As they entered the castle, a pregnant Snow White rushed forward and crushed Red in a hug, barely missing Jiminy on her shoulder. Jiminy was quick to jump onto the nearby railing of some stairs. He saw her eyes worriedly shift in his direction and he waved at her from the railing. She took a relieved breath and hugged her friend back.

"We are just waiting for one more," Snow told her as she leaned back. The young queen looked tired and worse for wear, but somewhat happy at her friend's entrance.

"Let me guess, one Jiminy Cricket?" Red asked and picked the magical megaphone from her pocket and carried it over to his perch on the stairway.

"Jiminy!" Snow was startled and looked down at him, "Where did you come from?"

He quickly put on his mega phone and cleared his throat, "Red was kind enough to let me catch a ride on her shoulder to the castle. I am assuming that Gepetto and Pinocchio made it here in one piece?"

"They are already in the war room," she nodded and circled an arm through Red's in a sign of companionship and looked her in the eyes, "Along with Granny. We are ready to start."

"Coming, Jiminy?" Red held out her other hand and he jumped into it. She smiled down at him, "I promise that I will be more aware of people rushing at me for hugs."

"Thank you," he nodded once again.

* * *

After the meeting, Jiminy sat on the balcony that connected to the soon to be nursery. Gepetto was using it as a workshop and worked feverishly on the wardrobe that would carry Snow White, heavy with the new princess and his son to a land free from the Evil Queen's curse. Jiminy would be there for them, just as he had always been, but he was still cross with his ward. The princess would need her parents, both of them. As much as he worried for Pinocchio, he knew where their future stood and it was not with the boy.

He looked up at the sky and heard the sounds of normal crickets out in the forest. They still soothed him, even being of another species. How could he live with this deception, even though he wished for the young boy's well-being?

"Hello Gepetto," a voice called from inside the room and Jiminy flicked his antennas back toward the door, "Snow sent me up with some honey and some warm biscuits."

"Thank her for us, would you?" Gepetto smiled from behind the large trunk. He patted Pinocchio on the head as the young boy immediately took a warm biscuit from the tray.

"I will," she nodded and her eyes scanned the room, "Where is Jiminy?"

"He is out on the patio," Pinocchio pointed to the doors that were slightly open. The boy got closer to Red and waved at her to lean down so he could whisper. He pointed to the small megaphone that Jiminy usually wore that now sat next to their tools, "He's a little mad at papa."

"Oh?" Red smiled at the boy's frantic nod. Jiminy could feel his heart beat quicken and again pulled and patted down his jacket to make himself presentable.

"Pinocchio, I need your help on this," Gepetto called over and the boy scampered to his father.

Red lifted her upper half, tore off half a biscuit, put some honey on the side of it and walked out to the patio. She found the cricket on the top of the railing, looking out toward the forests. She put the half of the biscuit next to him and then pulled herself up to sit next to it. Neither said anything as silence settled over the patio. Jiminy eventually reached out for some of the biscuit and pushed it into his mandibles.

"Thank you for bringing this up to us, Red," he said quietly.

"I have to admit, I had other motives for bringing up the plate," she smiled down at him at which he smiled back, that is if he could. She looked out over the scenery before she continued, "How are you feeling about the plan?"

"I don't like the idea of the Prince having to stay behind," Jiminy said with a regretful sigh.

"I don't either, but Snow is a strong woman, she will raise our savior well," Red nodded. They both became quiet again and heard the crickets hum, "I love the sounds of the forest. It's more soothing then-"

A large crash sounded inside the nursery and Gepetto yelled out, "Be careful with the saw!"

Red looked at Jiminy with concern.

"That's normal," he shrugged and she started to laugh. He loved the sound of her laugh and chuckled along with her.

At that moment, Jiminy Cricket knew that he was completely and totally smitten.

* * *

The following four months after that night Jiminy had spent most of his time with Gepetto and Pinocchio in the workshop as usual, but found himself preoccupied with Red the rest of the time. They spent most of their time walking around the edge of the forests- well, more like Red walking and him sitting on her shoulder or flying at the side of her head. She intrigued him and they talked about anything that caught their fancy. Despite being young, she was quite intelligent and well informed, probably a side effect of being one of Snow's closest friends and confidents. She had to know the workings of the castle and of the kingdom if she was to help her best friend out.

She told him of her animal side out of the blue one night as they strolled down the forest's edge. She told him that she surprised herself, but it was just something about him that made her want to tell him the truth. Being told that she was a shape shifter was surprising at first, but made sense when he thought about it. He, in turn, told her of his human side and how he had become who- or what- he was, not going into complete detail of his own sins. It made it easier to know that she knew at least something about being part of the animal kingdom as well as the human.

One early evening, Jiminy was again toward the top of the nearly finished wardrobe and looked down at Gepetto. He watched as the last pieces fell together and faintly heard the large bell at the top of the tower ring. He looked at Gepetto and then at Pinocchio, "It's here."

At the last piece Gepetto smiled and hurried to put Pinocchio into the wardrobe. News of the baby's impending birth reached them, but Gepetto had already made up his mind; he was going to save his son. Pinocchio was going. With a loving send off from his father and some well to do advice from Jiminy, the boy disappeared. As soon as he had, Gepetto nodded to his longtime friend, understanding it may be the last time he would see him and rushed to tell the Charmings about the wardrobe.

With his ward off to tell the royals, Pinocchio gone and the warning bell echoing through the halls, Jiminy had one thought on his mind. He turned toward the door and heard the fighting down below, along with a loud howl. He quickly jumped out the room and rushed toward the fighting. He knew that she would be there- fighting and clawing at the intruders of the castle. Around the far corner he spotted two palace guards dead and a large, injured wolf toward one side of the hallway.

"Red!" He flew over, wishing that he was human to get to her quicker. With every flick of his wings he hoped and prayed that she was still alive. He wouldn't forgive himself if he didn't make it to her just because he couldn't cover enough ground. He landed to the side of her face and patted her muzzle with a small hand.

"Red?" he asked and stepped closer to her. Her golden eyes opened and seemed to recognize him in front of her. She whimpered and tried to get up to help in the fight again. He shook his head, "No, Red. The wardrobe is complete. Our savior is going to be saved. We will all be saved."

At the news, she relaxed a little against the cold, stone floor. She kept her eyes on his form and tried to turn her head toward him in a canine-like hug. She whimpered again and he nodded next to her, "Of course I am going to stay with you."

He looked out the window they were near and turned toward her as the dark cloud descended over the castle. The window blew out the window from the outside and the cloud that carried the dark curse rolled toward them. He felt her paw push him closer and he closed his eyes against her fur as the curse enveloped all.


	2. Chapter 1: Cursed

**Chapter One:**** Cursed**

Ruby was in her room at her vanity, slowly combing through her still wet hair. The make-up was gone; washed off in the shower, along with a good portion of the red streaks in her hair. She looked into her eyes and couldn't help the feeling that something was missing; something was not what it should be, something that was misplaced. She felt as if she was a different person shoved into the shell that she walked around Storybrooke in. Maybe that was the reason she dressed up the way she did and painted her face so much. She was trying to find that something; and as much as she tried, when she looked in the mirror she was looking into the wrong pair of eyes.

She put the comb down on her vanity top and rested her hands in her lap. She looked at the open palms and all she could remember was the box, covered with dirt and blood… and the heart.

"Ruby, stop it," she hissed at herself and screwed her eyes shut as her hands clenched into fists. She took a deep breath and went to sit on the edge of her bed.

She laid back and up at the canopy of her four poster bed. It's been so long since she felt like this. So lost… the last time was just after Peter died in the motorcycle accident. Again, she closed her eyes in mourning. She felt that it was her fault, always has been. She was the reason he was out on the road that night, and she was mad at him when he died. She was mad that he had ditched her when he bled out at the side of the road.

"Ruby?" Granny knocked lightly on her bedroom door.

"Come on in, Gran," she called to the door.

Her grandmother pushed her head through the door and looked at her granddaughter staring up at the canopy. The older woman's mouth quirked down in understanding and took a deep breath. She shuffled to other side of Ruby and sat down next to her.

"The day took more out of you than you thought, didn't it?" Granny asked and patted her closest hand in comfort.

Ruby immediately turned and put her head in Granny's lap. Granny smiled knowingly and ran a hand through her granddaughter's hair. She had done the exact same thing when she was younger and before her fierce independence and bull headedness had reared their ugly heads.

"You did a good thing today, Ruby," she said in a soothing voice.

"Mary Margaret is in jail for something that I am sure she didn't do," Ruby said in a mumble, "How is that good?"

"She will be exonerated, I am sure of it."

Ruby knew this, because she knew her school teacher friend well enough that though she loved David, she wouldn't kill another person for him.

There was a very pregnant pause in conversation before Ruby took a breath and asked, "Are you sure?"

"I am sure that woman wouldn't hurt anything, even a fly," Granny smiled at the thought of the young and innocent school teacher.

"No, I know that," Ruby rolled to her side and looked up, "I mean about me taking over."

"Ruby," Granny sighed and put hands on either side of Ruby's face to look down at her, "You are a strong, smart and independent young woman. You are everything that is needed to run this place and the diner. I would want no one else."

"But I haven't been the best person or the best example of what-"

"You've had your rough edges," Granny interrupted her with a small chuckle, "… but, you wouldn't be you without them. If you feel as if you have had mistakes, then fix them. If nothing else, those mistakes will only teach you lessons that you must learn only on your own."

Ruby paused again and looked up at her Granny. She smiled slightly and then nodded.

"Thank you," Ruby said quietly.

"You're welcome," Granny leaned over and kissed Ruby on the forehead. She then patted her on her side, "Now up. This old woman needs her sleep."

Ruby leaned up and Granny went toward the door. Ruby bit her lip and turned to follow her, "Granny?"

Granny only turned back toward her with a small raise of the eyebrows.

"We're going over the books tomorrow, right?" Ruby asked softly.

"Tomorrow afternoon," Granny smiled and then wagged a finger at her, "Don't be late for opening the diner tomorrow morning. I have some things to do here before I head over for the mid morning rush."

Ruby smiled with a nod and Granny turned out the lights in her room and closed the door. Ruby pulled the covers out from under her and rolled to her side to look out the window. Her eyes skimmed the dark skies until they landed on the full moon.

"I am not who I was," she whispered to herself and frowned as she buried her face into the pillow, "But who am I?"

* * *

Doctor Archibald Hopper was running earlier than what he usually did in the mornings, which was unusual since he wasn't that big of a morning person. His briefcase hung heavy by his side with the files on Henry and a few other patients that he had appointments with later in the afternoon. He stumbled into the diner and noticed that it was empty. He sat down with a thankful sigh in his usual booth.

"Morning, Archie," a voice greeted him.

Archie looked up to see Ruby already with pad in hand. It took him a moment, but he noticed she was different. Her hair wasn't straightened, which gave it graceful waves around her face, with a bit of the red coloring still at the ends. Her make-up was nearly nonexistent, with only some light mascara and her signature red lipstick. Her short shorts were nowhere to be found; instead she had red pants on with a checkered button up shirt over a black tank top. It was modest and casual and allowed her natural beauty to shine through.

"Too big of a change?" she asked after he didn't say anything and picked at her clothes.

"No!- well, er, yes, it is a big change," Archie shook his head, trying to get his mind in order. He saw her deflate a little and quickly added, "But it suits you! You look very nice this morning, Ruby."

She smiled genuinely, "Thank you, Archie."

"It's my pleasure," he smiled up at her.

"You're here a little earlier than usual," Ruby motioned to the clock on the wall behind her head, "I barely just opened and wasn't expecting anyone for the next hour or so."

"I have some files to go over and I thought that I would need some coffee before I drag them to the office and try to untangle the fine webs we all weave in life."

"Very poetic," she smirked and wrote down the coffee, "Anything else with the coffee?"

"I think that's it for now," he nodded.

"Coming right up," she nodded and turned quickly from him.

He felt that his eyes were lingering on her a little longer than he meant them to. That was probably the longest conversation that he had with her outside of the poster campaign that he helped her and Granny with during Emma's run for sheriff. Something changed about her seemingly overnight. She wasn't the Ruby she was a few days ago. The doctor in him wanted to figure it out, the friend in him wanted to help her. He knew that it must have been something big to change her perspective that quickly. He turned toward the windows when she came back with his coffee.

"Here you go," she placed it on the table in front of him.

"Thank you," he looked at the coffee and then back up at her.

She stood in front of him and tilted her head slightly in question, "What's the matter?"

"I should ask you the same thing, I think," he nodded at her clothing and she sighed heavily. He could tell that she was about to argue. He put a hand up and shook his head, "It's none of my business and I am not saying that you need a 'shrink'. I am just offering my ear… if you want to use it- a place to rant and not have to worry about being judged, that's all."

Ruby pulled her mouth closed and slowly nodded with a grateful gleam to her eyes, "I appreciate it, Archie. I might just take you up on it."

"Anytime, Ruby," he cupped his hands around the coffee and took a sip. He smiled and turned to her again, "Still the best brew."

Ruby smiled and shook her head, "It's store bought."

"It's still Granny's Diner coffee, and that's all that matters to me," he shrugged.

Ruby paused and watched him for a moment. Maybe it was something about that morning, or that he was offering something that no one else has, but she knew that she could trust him. It was something about him that made her want to tell him… well, everything. She took the seat across from him, "Okay, you got me. Do you have time to hear my pitiful moaning?"

"If I don't I will make time," he put a hand over one of hers that she had on the table.

"You're a good guy, Archie," she said and looked at their hands.

"And you're a great woman, Ruby," he offered back and took another sip of his coffee, "I just don't think that you realized that… or maybe you are just beginning to."

"Something like that," she nodded and took a deep breath before she started to spill her soul to the man in front of her, "I just want to know who I am. I don't think I have been me for a very long time."

"No one knows that for sure but you," he shrugged as if it was general knowledge, "What you have to ask yourself is if you do what you do for you, or for someone else. Never force anything, because it isn't real at that point. Always remember, you are you- the only person that you ever need to be."

Ruby's genuine smile returned and Archie couldn't help but give her one of his own.

* * *

Over the next couple of weeks Archie was around the diner more often than not, especially when Ruby was on duty. She would take her break and sit with him when he came in for lunch. She would chat with him about literature or his latest patient- secrecy still held in the highest regard to his patient's vital information- and she asked often about Pongo. He would ask her about Granny and how the bed and breakfast was fairing. He especially loved the days when Marco would join him for lunch at the diner, because that meant that Ruby would sit next to him as they ate during her breaks.

Ruby had stopped wearing her revealing clothing and began to take pride in not only herself, but her future as the proprietor of the diner and the bed and breakfast. Everyone could see the change and the growth in the young woman and the pride in Granny's eyes. Ruby kept her hair natural and stopped straightening it, but still kept her edge to what she wore. She knew she didn't have to show skin, but she didn't have to give up her style either. Slowly, but surely, she was relearning who she was piece by piece.

Granny saw her sitting with Archie one day right after the lunch rush and looked at the calmness that seemed to settle over her in the presence of the psychologist. A knowing smirk covered her face as she also saw the bright smile that covered Archie's face when she joined him at his booth. She looked at the flyer that was delivered with the mail and made her way to his table to tell Ruby.

"And then he tried to do something quite… we will say unscrupulous," Ruby said with a smirk as Archie laughed at her tone. He turned his eyes up to Granny as she approached the table.

"Afternoon, Mrs. Lucas," Archie greeted with a smile and looked up at her.

"Archie, will you please stop being so formal and call me Granny," she tapped him lightly with the paper still folded in her hand.

"Whatcha' got there, Gran?" Ruby nodded at the paper.

"It looks like Mary Margaret is coming home," Granny unfolded the paper and put it on the table. She watched Ruby grab it up before Archie could see it, "I told you that it was only a matter of time."

"Well, especially since I found Katherine out back, I would assume so," Ruby smirked smartly and put the flyer back down on the table. She read off of it, "The party is tonight at Emma and her apartment."

"Sounds like it will be quite a to-do," Archie said and took a sip of his water.

"We should all go," Ruby said and looked up at Granny before she shifted her eyes to Archie, "Do you want to come along?"

"I wouldn't want to impose on you-"

"Oh please," Ruby rolled her eyes and took her turn at swatting him with the paper, "Stop being such a goody, goody. Come and enjoy. It's not like I am trying to pull you to the bar."

"It won't be an inconvenience," Granny put her two cents in, "Your office is on the way. We will pick you up after you lock up."

"Well, I can't say no to two women," he shrugged and got up to leave. He put a couple of bills on the table to pay his tab and nodded to the two women, "I will see you two tonight after I lock up the office."

"Later, Archie," Ruby smiled and waved her fingers at him. She giggled to herself when she noticed the slight tinge of blush to his cheeks and top of his ears. After he left she looked up at Granny who had her arms folded over her chest, "What did I do now?"

"You have that man wrapped around your finger and you don't even know," Granny chuckled and shook her head as Ruby began to gather the plates left on his table.

"I do not," Ruby again rolled her eyes and looked at her grandmother, "Archie is… well, he is a good friend and I… I am not his type."

"You barely know what type you are, girl," Granny pointed at her and took some of the plates before Ruby decided to drop them, "You may be just what he needs, and vice-versa."

"Can we save this conversation for later?" Ruby got the last of the plates and looked around them to see if there was anyone listening.

"Oh, don't worry. You could do worse than a rumor that you and the dear doctor have… what is it? The 'hots' for one another?"

"But we don't!" Ruby hissed under her breath and pushed Granny toward the kitchen.

"Of course not, dear," Granny reassured her.

* * *

The whole event was pretty down to earth. Mary Margaret greeted the guests and helped Emma serve punch. Little Henry gave her a card that only a child could think of and gave everyone a good laugh. The whole room laughed and talked and schmoozed in good spirits and well wishes to the returned school teacher. Archie stayed close by Granny and Ruby for the most part making them the three musketeers.

"Here you are," Archie offered Ruby some punch and she accepted with a smile.

"Thank you."

"I thought that it would be nice for me to serve you something for a change," he shrugged. He settled across from her, but his eyes shifted to another pair at the side of the room. He quietly chuckled and nodded toward them, "It looks like your grandmother is monopolizing the time of my best friend."

"Hm?" Ruby turned her head to see where he was looking and saw Granny right next to Marco. It almost looked like they were whispering to one another… at least Ruby hoped that they were only whispering, "Looks like I am going to have to have a talk to my Granny about public displays of affection."

"I am assuming that a rant of 'hot Italian' blood is in my future as well," Archie said with a chuckle and turned from the older pair, "Distraction would be welcome before that sentence is carried out."

Ruby giggled and shook her head, "There isn't much that I can offer at the moment other than maybe our discussion we left off on about Austen verses Bronte."

"You have great taste, Ruby. Maybe we should just leave it at that and let you win," he shrugged and then rubbed the back of his neck.

"You look a little out of it, are you okay?" Ruby asked and pulled a little on his shirt sleeve.

"Marco said something to me earlier, and it isn't leaving me in peace like I thought it would," Archie smiled slightly and then coughed nervously into his hand.

"Oh?"

"Yeah," Archie hesitated and took a deep breath. He leaned toward her slightly as if whispering a secret, "I was wondering… this Friday… are you doing anything?"

Ruby stood stunned for a moment before her smirk planted itself on her face, "Are you asking me… on a date?"

"Well, if you want to think of it more as a 'hang out' or just friends type activity-"

"Archie," Ruby interrupted him and put a hand on his arm, "Give me a little more time. I just started to figure myself out. You have given me a lot to think about and try to piece together and I am so grateful for that. As soon as I know I am ready, believe me, you will be first number I dial."

She leaned up and pecked him on his cheek. He smiled softly and tried to beat back the red splotches on his face.

"I believe you," he nodded and put a hand over the one that was on his arm. She looked up into his eyes and he chuckled, "No rush, Ruby. Still having lunch at the diner on Monday?"

"Same time, same booth," she nodded and pulled at little on his sleeve under his hand.

"Ruby," Granny said from her other side, "Are you ready to go?"

Ruby nodded and turned back to Archie, "You coming?"

"I think I need to talk some with Casanova before I head home to Pongo," Archie pointed over to Marco who was watching Granny.

Ruby giggled, "Okay. I will see you Monday."

He only nodded as his hand was hesitant to let hers go. He stood in his place as Ruby put down her glass and said goodbye to Mary Margaret and Emma.

"How did you do?" Marco asked from behind him and made Archie jump.

"I say it went well," Archie said with a small smile as he turned to his friend, "It wasn't a refusal, that's for sure."

"Come, I think some drinks are in order," Marco announced and pulled his friend toward the door and to his home.


	3. Chapter 2:Begin Again

******A/N**: From this point on is after the episode "Child of the Moon" as I mentioned earlier. I was going to put in the things that happened right after the curse broke, but I felt that all I was doing was typing what the show had already shown. It was superfluous, so I needed to change tact. Don't worry, there will be mention of certain moments in the upcoming chapters. Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter Two****: Begin Again**

Ruby sat on top of the bed and breakfast, the wind running though her hair as if she was still running through the woods. The moon had dropped below the horizon long ago, but she couldn't go to sleep, even after all the excitement earlier. Not when she finally had peace with herself again. Human and wolf bounded together in a peaceful understanding of one another instead of a bitter war that waged every full moon. She turned her head toward the woods and heard the sounds of the woods add to her serenity.

"Ruby?" the attic trap door flipped up and Granny poked her head up, "I was wondering where you went off to, David had told me that you went on a run. Are you going to get any sleep tonight, child?"

"Maybe," Ruby shrugged and looked back at the sky, a mix of day and night, "I'm just thinking."

"About?" Granny huffed and sat close to her, but away from the edge.

"About…." She stopped herself and shook her head. It sounded strange in her head, how was it going to sound when she finally voiced it?

"Ruby Lucas, you have never been soft spoken. Don't you start on me now," Granny shook a finger at her.

"…how did you find grandfather?" she asked after a moment of hesitation and then turned to Granny, "It's just after what happened to Billy… and Peter… Everyone I even thought that I _could_ love… has died because of this thing inside me- if not killed by it. The wolf… how did you find love and keep it? Is it even possible? If I find someone to love again… will he be safe?"

"It was much different then, Red," Granny sighed and shook her head at the memories, "Sometimes you just don't find love. Sometimes, people have to settle with what they have."

"You didn't love him?" she asked a bit shocked.

"Not as I should have," she paused, but held Ruby's face in her hands, "But you… you will find him. And the wolf… well, the wolf will love him, too. Because in the end, you are one in the same."

"How do you know that I will find him?" she asked with frown between Granny's hands.

"You've always been determined, stubborn and away from tradition," Granny chuckled and rubbed her forehead against Ruby's. Ruby smiled sadly at the correct description. Granny shifted back and toward the attic door, "Now, come down. Sometimes I think that you have no sense in your head. Sittin' out on the rooftop. I should get your head examined."

Ruby smiled and looked down again before she started to move toward the door. Something suddenly clicked in her mind. She thought back over the last few days and something was alarmingly obvious. The town conscience was nowhere to be found. She knew him as a close friend and he wouldn't just stand by and let people hunt and kill her. She frowned and looked down the street toward his office. It may be early, but she had to follow her gut. Something wasn't right.

She rushed down the stairs and past Granny, wrapping a scarf around her head, "I will be back to work the diner later today."

"Consider this a day off!" she called after her before the door closed. She shook her head and mumbled to herself, "Goodness knows you're going to need the sleep after tonight."

Ruby ran down the street and turned the corner she knew led to Archie's office. She felt bad that the last couple of weeks she had been ignoring her friend from both her past life and this one. Between finding herself, fighting the wolf and keeping the diner and the bed and breakfast afloat, she hasn't had much time to think of anything else. The last time she even remembered seeing him was…

"No wonder," she mumbled to herself.

After he and Marco had tried to leave and cross the border, she felt betrayed. She really had no reason to feel as such, but it felt like one of her friends was abandoning her for some life that wasn't even real. After the event, she felt that some time apart would do them good. Whenever he entered the diner, she would let someone else take care of him. Every time he would approach her she would send him a knowing glance and then walk away without a word. He got the message that she was mad, and he knew why. He stayed away as long as she wanted him to, even if he missed her. He was never one to impose on another.

She reached the door to his office and before she could even knock she smelt human blood. She pushed at the door and it swung open without protest. She frowned and kept her senses alert. She walked down the hall and looked through each doorway without too long of a pause, quickly leading to the source of the blood. In his back office room, she finally found him.

"God, Archie!" she ran and knelt in front of him.

He was tied to one of the desk chairs with what looked like zip ties and duct tape. The blood smell was coming from his head, where there was a large gash where someone must have hit him with something large and heavy. His head was slumped forward and his breathing through his nose seemed labored. She quickly pulled off the duct tape from over his mouth and was anxious when he didn't respond to the pain.

She put a hand on the side both sides of his face and began to move it back and forth as if to wake him up, "Archie… can you hear me? You need to wake up. Archie?"

Again without response she made sure he was still breathing and looked at the desk to try and find something to cut him out of his chair. She found some scissors and cut his hands away, and his body immediately fell forward and toward her. She caught him easily, but forgot how heavy he was compared to his last incarnation.

"Oof," she mumbled into his shoulder and tried to turn him without twisting his ankles, "Don't worry, Archie. I got you."

She quickly cut the ankle ties and crawled back up to his face, "Archie? Please wake up; you're starting to scare me… please."

Still nothing, she grabbed her phone and began to call David. As the phone rang she kept trying with her friend. She placed his head in her lap and ran a hand over his brow, "Come on, Jiminy. You're made of tougher stuff than this."

Finally he started to mumble something too soft for her to hear over the ringing of the phone against her ear. His eyes then tried to open and he frowned, "Red?"

"Oh, thank goodness," she smiled down at him. She patted his face a little to keep him awake, "Stay with me, Jiminy. Stay awake."

"What happened?" he mumbled and tried to sit up.

She gently pushed him back down in her lap and shook her head, "I thought that you could tell me. Stay still- David! Finally you pick up. I am at Archie's office, he's been attacked. Get over here, now!"

She hung up the phone without an answer and gave him all her attention.

"What time is it?" he asked and tried to look around the area.

"It's four in the morning," she answered and felt her heartbeat return to normal. She saw his lids try to close again, but shook her head and turned his face up toward hers, "Stay awake with me, Archie. You got hit in the head pretty bad, you need to stay awake. Tell me, who did this to you?"

"District Attorney… wait, no," Archie furrowed his brows, "It was…King George."

He paused for a moment and then his eyes became focused and he looked up at her, "He was going out to kill you! Did he come after you? Are you okay?"

He suddenly launched himself into a sitting position, despite her trying to keep him in a stable position, with some aftershocks of pain from the look of it. He gripped his side, but still looked her over and brushed some hair from her face so he could check for any bruises. He squinted a little in what light came through his windows, amazed that he still had his glasses on. She smiled warmly at him and pushed his hand down from her face.

"I'm fine," she assured him, "David came and saved me. Found out that King George killed Billy and took my cloak too. Wanted to frame me and stir up a lynch mob."

"I saw… I was going to stop him," he nodded after his statement, "I refuse to let anyone hurt my friends."

"I appreciate the action, but you have never been the one for fighting. In either life," she smiled fondly and added a little chuckle at his downward look.

"I would have at least tried… and I did," he shrugged, "George and two other men came in and tried to convince me to, uh, 'stay in for the night'. I refused and wanted to talk some sense into anyone who was weak minded enough to follow him. That didn't go over well and they kicked me pretty good in the ribs and then when that didn't seem to stop me, they must have hit me over the head. I don't remember them tying me up. They told me as I was blacking out that they would leave the door open just in case you got hungry as the wolf."

"I'm sorry," she whispered and saw him holding his ribs, "Why don't I take a look?"

He looked from where his arm was wrapped around himself and then to her, "I don't know, Ruby."

"It's me or Whale, I just want to make sure that you aren't bleeding internally," she frowned and pushed his hand away from his side. She lifted his shirt just enough to see the bruises that marred his skin. She growled to herself and wished that the wolf had enough mind to tear off George's head. She heard him hiss as she applied a little pressure to the bruises, "Sorry."

"No, as you said," he hissed again and squinted, but still gave her a smile over his shoulder, "Better you than Whale. He would never be this gentle."

"Major bruising, but I am pretty sure they just bruised the ribs. I've had those before, not the best feeling, but knowing David he will bring paramedics or something and they won't have to drag you off to the ER."

"Not a place I want to be…" he murmured and put a hand to his head, "I feel dizzy."

"With a whack to the head like the one you got, I believe you," she sat back against the couch and waved him toward her, "Lay back down."

"I thought you were upset with me," he said, but did as he was told.

"I think I dragged it out for too long," she nodded, "I was being a little immature about the whole thing."

"No, you had every right to get me to think over my actions. I wasn't thinking right, and… I wouldn't be who I am if it wasn't for Jiminy. I am him as much as I am Archie," he nodded slowly and looked at her. He remembered nights sitting on her shoulder or her lap when he was much smaller and a different species. But being a man again, this seemed more… intimate.

She held out her arms to him and raised her eyebrows as if to ask him what was taking so long. He hesitantly laid his head down on her lap again as she hugged him from her seated position above him, "Settle yourself down. I can feel your nerves from up here. This is no different than what we had done back home."

He smiled under her hair and nodded as his body relaxed.

She smiled when she felt the action, "You said you'd never do it again, or attempt it again and I believe you. You never give a promise you don't intend to keep, just like you never lie without a greater cause."

"Hm," he nodded in agreement and closed his eyes as he smelt her shampoo from the hair that covered his face.

"Gotta stay awake, though," she reminded him and pulled up to look over his face.

"Talk to me then," he requested.

"About what?" she smiled in relief at the alert sound of his voice.

"About the last two weeks," he said with a light nod and folded his hands over his chest, since he was at a loss on what to do with them, "What have I missed?"

"Okay…" she looked up at the ceiling to think over what has happened, "Have you heard about the mine yet?"

* * *

Twenty minutes later David rushed into the office with two paramedics. They hurried in with a stretcher and stopped when they saw Doctor Hopper and Ruby on the ground, the good doctor's head in her lap. She looked up at them and nodded for them to hurry.

"About time, you'd better hope he doesn't have a concussion," she pointed to the man still awake in her lap. He blushed furiously and waved at the small group of people now standing in the doorway of his ruined office.

The paramedics looked at one another and then quickly set to work to put Archie on the stretcher and start the process of evaluation. Ruby got off the ground and wiped her hands on the front of her pants before she went to stand by David. He looked at the mess in the office and then the chair that he must have been tied to.

"How did you know?" he asked and looked at Ruby.

"I was worried," she shrugged and watched closely as the paramedics poked and prodded at Archie who didn't seem enthused about the invasion of his personal privacy, "I hadn't seen him in the last two days."

"You haven't seen him for the past two weeks," David said and crossed his arms over his chest. She looked at him with a raised brow and he shrugged, "Archie and I are friends Ruby. He can talk about his problems to me, just as well as I can talk to him."

"You saying that I'm a problem?" she smirked at him.

"You didn't already know?" he chuckled and she nodded as if proud, "He missed you is all. I remember how you two were when you first met back home. Thick as thieves and good friends right off the bat. Right before the curse ended you two were becoming friends again, too…"

At this he paused and looked at her features as she had turned back to the paramedics at the stretcher now quietly arguing with Archie.

"…I also saw you holding his arm when we first faced Regina after the smoke settled, the way that you looked at him when he was about the cross the border," at this she looked down at the ground, "I also heard of the way you were ignoring him for that."

"Served him right for trying to take one of my best friends away from me- especially after what had happened with Snow and Emma," she frowned and glanced up at David, "You're trying to go somewhere with this, aren't you?"

"Just observations," he shrugged again and cleared his throat, "So why after these two particular days did you need to see him?"

"You know as well as I do that he would be against the lynch mob, David," she huffed and crossed her arms in defiance, "He had tried to stop it and King George beat the living crap out of his ribs. I am surprised that none of them are broken."

"You've already checked?" David asked with a large smirk.

"Can it!" she barked at him and he held up his hands in surrender.

The paramedics stepped away from their unwilling patient and sighed, "We want to take him in for observation over night for his head. We don't think it is a concussion, but we want to make sure that he doesn't hurt himself while on his own."

"Then what's the problem?" David asked as he could read their faces were hesitant.

"He doesn't want to go," one of them said with an aggravated sigh.

"I am fine," Archie said in a raised voice from behind them, still on the stretcher.

The group of four turned back and looked at him while he put his hands up as if to motion he was normal.

Ruby sighed heavily, "I will stay with him for the day. Make sure that he is okay."

"Ruby, no," Archie shook his head with a hand up, "You have had a long night and shouldn't have to take care of me. Go home and get some sleep."

"You tried to protect me; I am returning the favor. End of conversation," she pointed at him and then turned to the paramedics, "Everything else okay with him?"

"He has some rib injury, more than likely bruised, nothing that rest won't cure," the paramedic then turned back to him, "But he has to rest."

Archie only frowned.

"What do I need him to do?" Ruby asked with her arms folded over her chest.

"Apply an ice pack to his side, but don't wrap his chest. That may lead to pneumonia. We will give you some pain killers to help the pain. He will also have to take some deep breaths to make sure he keeps his muscles stretched. We will see him over the next day or two at the hospital to check on his progress."

"I'll make sure he goes," she nodded and held out her hand for the painkillers.

The paramedics handed a small bottle over and told her the dosage. She nodded and walked over to Archie on the stretcher. She held out her arm and looked up at him, "Let's get you home."


	4. Chapter 3: Domestic

**Chapter Three**: **Domestic**

Within fifteen minutes Ruby pushed through Archie's door, his arm over her shoulders and his keys dangled from her other hand. She threw the supplies and pills that the paramedics gave her on the table to the side of his couch before turning to close the door behind them. Pongo bounded up to the two of them and barked in greeting. Archie smiled at his faithful companion and patted him on the head as Ruby led him toward the hallway and his room.

"Good boy, Pongo," Archie whispered and pointed to the side as he turned back to Ruby, "First door on the right."

"Gotcha," she nodded and shoved the door open as she pulled him after her.

She chuckled a little at the sparse room- as calm and ordinary as they came. A small, oak dresser sat against the wall with a small mirror above it. Across from that there was a full bed with natural green and brown bedding. It looked like Pongo had been using it in his master's absence. A small, yet tasteful rug decorated the area in front of the bed and the overhead light seemed like it hadn't been updated since the small apartment was built.

"What's the punch line?" Archie asked with a smirk, still resting some of his weight on her shoulder.

"Sorry," Ruby shook her head and then swept her free arm out to gesture to the room, "It's just so... _you_."

He nodded and walked slowly to the bed with an awkward touch to her shoulder to tell her he could at least do that, "Don't need much if all I do is sleep and change in this room."

"I guess that's true," she nodded and smiled as Pongo pushed the door a little and entered the room. He took a look to his owner and then gave full attention to Ruby. Pongo pushed off the floor and put his front paws up on Ruby's stomach.

"Pongo! Manners!" Archie frowned at the dalmatian.

"No, it's okay," Ruby shook her head and looked down at the dog. She rubbed behind his ears and then rubbed noses with him, "He's a good boy. He just wants to say hello and thank me for bringing you home safe. Don't you, boy?"

"He needs to be fed," Archie said absently and tried to get up again.

"Oh no! You stay in bed," Ruby turned to him and Pongo immediately leapt from her and put his paws over his master's shoes. The dalmatian looked up at Archie and huffed as if telling him no. Ruby chuckled a little and nodded her head, "Good boy, Pongo. You keep him here and I will get your food while the ice pack freezes."

Pongo seemed to nod and kept his eyes on Archie's face.

Archie looked up at her with narrowed eyes, "How do you do that?"

"It's a canine thing," she smiled and pointed at him, "Now, sit back. You need to rest."

"What about you?" he asked and scooted back on the bed, Pongo leery of his movements, "You've had a full night."

"I'll be fine," she waved her hand at his concern.

Archie smiled at her retreating shadow down the hall and then turned to his dog, which had jumped on the bed to keep a tighter watch on him. Archie chuckled a little and then patted his dog on the head, "Traitor."

Pongo whistled a wine and licked at Archie's hand.

"It's okay, I forgive you. It's hard to say no to her," he placated his dog and then leaned back into the pillows. It was so good to be home and off of that horrid chair. He is buying a whole new office set up when he can reopen his practice. After a few minutes Ruby brought in Pongo's bowl in one hand and a glass of water with pain relievers in the other.

"We will have to wait a little longer for the ice pack, but at least I got your drugs," she smiled happily and put Pongo's dish on the ground. She looked at the dog and nodded to the bowl, "I got it from here. Go ahead and chow down."

Pongo immediately leapt from the bed and over to his bowl; his tail wagging the entire time.

"You're good with him," Archie smiled and took the pills and glass of water.

"Of course, he and I have some things in common," she smiled fondly and watched him take a sip of the water, "He knows that I care about you, just like he does. I think that's the strongest bond between us. You know- other than the whole wolf thing."

Archie immediately began to cough on his water and then leaned forward to try and release the pain that had erupted in his sides. Red frowned and grabbed the glass from him before the rest of the water went over his clothes and bed. She rubbed his back a little and he stopped his coughing.

"Are you okay?" Ruby asked and lifted a brow as she watched him carefully.

"I'm okay," he held up a hand and leaned back. He looked at Ruby and knew that she saw how red his face was. He only hoped that she thought it was from the coughing fit.

Ruby sighed and reached over his legs.

"What are you doing?" he asked in a semi-panic.

"Taking off your shoes and socks," she said simply and pulled a foot into her lap as she settled toward the end of the bed. She looked back up at him and smiled smugly, "You won't be able to bend that well with your sides sore like they are. I thought that this would help and you can actually get some sleep."

"I've been sleeping a good portion of the night," he rubbed his head and brushed over the bandage over the hit on his head.

"You were knocked out," she reminded him, "There is a difference."

"It's still sleep," he shrugged slightly, "I don't think that I can get anymore sleep now that I'm awake."

"Well, that's just too bad, isn't it?" she shrugged back at him with a smug smile. She finished with one foot and motioned toward the other. She narrowed her eyes when he hesitated and he shifted his foot toward her. She smiled proudly and began to divest his foot.

"What are you going to do while I sleep?" he asked and looked her over, "From the sound of it, you haven't gotten any sleep."

"I told you, it is fine. Don't worry, I've gone longer without," she smiled and patted his shin, "All done. Now, I am going to ice those ribs of yours and then maybe stretch them out since you are insistent on not following my requests of sleep."

"Requests or demands?" he asked with a small smile.

She chuckled and got off the bed and walked toward the door, "Don't push your luck."

He chuckled back and they both fell back into the familiar camaraderie that they had before the curse. He had missed it greatly, even when he was just Archie and she was just Ruby. He would go to the diner often to see her and just talk to her in passing, offering the hand of friendship without quite knowing why he was so eager to do so. She never quite took it until the heart in the box debacle that made her question herself, but he managed to grab a few moments of her time every so often before then. He was surprised at first, but she felt secure enough to tell him in confidence outside of his office, he wasn't going to turn her away.

"Time for some ice," she announced her entrance with the large pack in her hands. She stood to his side with a wicked smirk on her face, "Shirt. Off. Now."

His face immediately went red with embarrassment as his eyes flicked quickly from the ice pack to her face.

"I am joking," she chuckled and handed him the ice pack, "Twenty minutes on the areas that hurt the most. No longer than that."

"Thank you," he nodded and took the ice pack; slightly tempted to put it to his face to calm his burning cheeks. He put it under his shirt and placed it on his right side. A sigh of relief came from him and he closed his eyes in pleasure.

"Finally got you relaxed a little," she nodded at the pack and sat back on the end of the bed.

"It feels uncomfortable, yet fantastic at the same time."

Ruby laughed out loud and lay back on the foot of the bed as she continued. Archie looked over his legs and bare feet to watch her peculiar actions. She shook her head as she laughed and finally pushed herself to her side and on one of her elbows.

"I'm sorry, just the way you said it and what was said…" she giggled behind a hand as she settled down and smirked, "It almost sounded like I popped your cherry."

"Red, really!" If he wasn't blushing before, he definitely was now. This only made her laugh even more.

Pongo felt that he was being left out and jumped up on the bed to lick at Ruby's face as she laughed. She patted him on the head and he settled on her other side and laid against her back. His head draped over the dip in her waist and her free hand settled over his head and ears. She settled back down to peer over at her friend, "I am sorry, Jiminy. It just popped into my head."

"Hm," he hummed and coughed into his hand to cover what was left of his blush.

"Did you blush this much as a cricket?" she asked curiously as they had fallen back into silence, "I know you did as Archie, but I never knew back home."

He paused a moment in thought and knew that there had been times that he would have in her presence if he had the ability, "I don't think I could even if I had reason."

"That's a shame," she said and he flicked his eyes to hers. She smiled softly, "It's very cute."

He huffed a little and shifted the ice pack under his shirt.

She patted his shin again, "Don't be like that, Jimin- er, do you prefer Archie?"

He looked back at her face and saw her genuine question. He smiled to bring hers back, "You can call me whichever you want. I answer to both."

"But what do you want to be called?" she urged and pushed at his leg before she laid completely on the bed.

He thought about it hard and then looked back at her, "I asked you a long time ago to call me Jiminy. I think we will stick with it."

"Then I must ask that you call me Red," she smiled from where her head laid on one of her arms.

"You remember," he chuckled and looked up at the ceiling of his bedroom.

"I wouldn't forget when we first met," she distracted herself and scratched at Pongo's head still nestled on her waist.

They both fell into a soft and comfortable quiet. After the twenty minutes were over, Archie turned his attention back to Ruby who looked like she had fallen asleep over the foot of his bed. He took a few moments and just watched her. She was still the same woman that he had known from back home, now with just a small splattering of red at the tips of her hair and over her lips. David was right when he said that they were both, but the more he looked at her, the more he sees the Red that had befriended him on the road when he was no more than an insect. His eyes lingered over her form and then rested on his dog's face. He has never been more envious of his own pet before.

Pongo met his eyes and whined a little and then pawed at Ruby's arm that was nearby.

"Pongo, don't," Archie whispered harshly to Pongo, "She needs her sleep too."

"Too late," Ruby woke up with a deep breath. She looked at the clock at the side of his room and then to him, "Time to turn in the ice pack."

"Really, Red, go get some sleep. I will take care of this," he nodded his head at his midsection.

"Nope, not happening," she shifted and stood up from his bed. She tugged at her shirt that had caught on itself and showed a bit of skin. She held out her hand toward him, "Ice pack."

He hesitantly handed it over and she walked out of the room toward the kitchen. He looked at Pongo who yawned and took up Ruby's warm spot on the bed. Archie shook his head and got up off the bed since the second sentry was falling asleep. He walked carefully down the short hall and found Ruby by his refrigerator putting his ice pack back in the freezer. She heard his foot shuffle against the wood flooring and she frowned.

Ruby put her hands on her hips as she turned toward him, "I thought I told you to stay in bed."

"I got bored, and you told me that we would need to stretch out my muscles," he shrugged gently.

"Sit down," she sighed in a playfully aggravating way and pointed to the couch, "If I knew that you were this stubborn…"

"You would have what?" he asked and smiled as he sat on the large couch in front of his small television.

"Don't test me, Jiminy," she warned with a grin, "You know I will win."

"I am just wondering what you would have done," he raised his eyebrows.

She paused before she reached the couch and looked him over before she sat on the opposite side from him. She tilted her head much like he has seen Pongo do when he tries to figure something out. She suddenly smirked and chuckled lightly to herself.

"Jiminy Cricket…" she paused again and looked up at him with her hands on her knees, facing fully toward him, "Are you… teasing me?"

"What?" he asked and sat up straighter, immediately regretting it. He took a deep breath and tried to stretch out the muscles that had just seized up on him. He looked over at her, "I would never impose anything on you, Red. I-"

"Don't worry, Jiminy," she shook her head and put a hand on his shoulder to push him back into his own seat. She then clapped her hands together, "Let's get some breathing stretches done."

An hour later, Ruby had her head on his shoulder as she had again fallen asleep while they watched some late night, old horror movies. Jiminy noticed that her breathing evened out and he looked down to find her asleep. He let out a long breath and tried his very best not to wake her as he maneuvered his way off the couch. He lowered her to the cushion and then covered her with the throw blanket he had over the back of the couch. He smiled as she let out a relaxed sigh.

He looked outside and saw the sun finally rising. Maybe he should get some sleep. He gave one last glance back at Ruby laid out on his couch and then turned toward his bedroom.

* * *

"Well, look who finally made an appearance," Belle said with a light song quality to her voice. Apparently, she was a morning person. Belle watched as Ruby, still wearing a now wrinkled version of her clothes from yesterday sat herself down heavily into the seat and looked at Belle with a downward curl of her lip. Belle smiled and sipped at the iced tea that she already had ordered, "Have a long night?"

"And morning…" Ruby groaned and looked at Belle's wrists. She looked up into her friend's eyes, "Sorry for chaining you to the pipes in the library. Glad to see that someone got you out."

"You did what you felt had to be done," she shrugged and looked at her with a secretive smile, "Besides, James sent Rumple to come and get me. He told me what happened, which is why I am so calm as of right now."

"So, he had you all to himself… chained up?" Ruby smirked.

"You are one to talk," Belle blushed slightly and then pointed to her clothes, "Same as yesterday, I see."

"Not what you think," she shrugged and leaned back, "I had something to take care of."

"Or someone," Belle chuckled into her glass.

"Did you get what you needed to do, done?" Granny asked and walked over with a large cup of coffee for her granddaughter.

"Somewhat," Ruby shrugged and hugged the cup between her two hands, "I found Archie tied up in his office last night. King George and couple of his cronies beat the crap out of him when he tried to talk some sense into the idiots that followed him."

"Oh my!" Granny reared back a little, "Is he okay?"

"Bruised ribs and a gash on his head," Ruby nodded and gritted her teeth, "If I ever get my fangs on that so called king…"

"Well, he's safe now, right?" Belle asked and put a hand over Ruby's.

"Yeah, he's good," she nodded with a calming breath, "He's finally sleeping. At least he was when I left his apartment not too long ago. Someone had to make sure that he wasn't going to get hurt on his own. Gotta call him and make sure he goes to the hospital later today."

Both Granny and Belle exchanged a look as Ruby took a long sip of the warm coffee. Belle cleared her throat and looked back at Ruby, "Why don't you just go and check on him. You know? Tell him in person?"

"I couch surfed at his place last night and made him take his meds and ice his wounds. I doubt he would want to see me again so soon," she chuckled a little into the cup.

"Well, I hope he goes," Granny sighed and wiped off the side of the table before she began to walk away, "That man can be quite difficult when it comes to his own well-being. Take care of everyone else in the world, but leave himself unchecked."

Ruby paused at the comment and looked into her coffee cup.

"Are you okay, Ruby?" Belle asked and waved a hand in front of her face.

"Yeah," she sighed heavily, "I guess I am making another trip to someone's apartment."

"I thought you were just going to give him a call," Belle smiled.

"You don't know him like Granny and I do," she ran a hand through her hair and looked at her watch. She looked up at her friend and frowned, "Sorry, I have to cut our lunch date short this week."

"I'm just glad you got here," Belle smiled and nodded to her.

"I am going to take a trip back to the bed and breakfast and get a change of clothes and a shower before I get going for the rest of the day," Ruby downed the rest of her coffee, "I will see you soon."

"Good luck," Belle winked at her, which Ruby brushed off. Belle smiled at her iced tea and thought about her friend and if she even noticed it.

"You saw it too, huh?" a voice came from behind her in the next booth over.

Belle turned her head and saw David now facing her from the other side of the booth, "Good afternoon, Sheriff."

"Hello, Belle," he smiled back in a teasing way, "I expect that Gold treated you like he should when he came to get you."

"Of course," she nodded. David rose from his seat and sat down in Ruby's recently vacated spot.

"Now back to the original question," he folded his hands in front of him on the table, "You saw it too, right?"

"I am afraid I have no idea what you are talking about," Belle said with a lift of one brow.

"Don't give me that, Belle," he laughed and leaned back in the booth, "She is taking care of him… she knows his habits… she's worried about him."

"Are you trying to say that Ruby likes Doctor Hopper?" Belle asked and leaned forward in a play whisper and narrowed eyes, "I might have noticed."

"Good, I am not the only one," David smiled brighter and tapped the table, "You see, she's denying it and I know Archie, he will deny his side of things until death… at least in public."

"He likes her too?" Belle's eyes widened, as did her smile, at the revelation.

"Of course," David shrugged, "Has since before the curse even began."

"Wasn't he a cricket before the curse?" Belle tilted her head and pointed to the table as if it was the time in question.

"And a man before that," David waved his hand as if to explain it all, "The thing is that as Archie he disclosed a few things to me one Valentine's Day evening before I met up with Mary Margaret. During a snooping session, we will say?"

"You spied on Ruby?" Belle asked in a dead tone.

"Me? No, _I_ was spying on Mary Margaret from the corner table," David explained and then continued, "Which happened to be occupied by a flustered Doctor Hopper who was watching the same table… just a different object of affection."

"Ruby?" Belle gasped quietly and leaned toward him as if he was a conspirator, "Did she know?"

"Neither one of the ladies knew that we were there that night," David shook his head.

"Does she know of his affections?" Belle looked toward the door just in the slim chance that either of them was to walk in.

"Neither of those two kids know," Granny said suddenly at the side of the table making both Belle and David jump in surprise. Granny smiled and looked at the both of them with her arms crossed over her chest, "You two aren't going to try to play match maker with my granddaughter and the good doctor, are you?"

Belle and David looked at one another and then up at Granny.

"Not without your help, of course, Granny," David replied with a charming smile.

Granny smiled wider, "Good, because I am tired of them shooting puppy eyes at one another when the other isn't lookin'. Even before Emma came to town, I was waiting for Ruby to smart up and grab the only man who tried to grab her attention and not her backside."

"So… do we have a plan?" Belle asked and looked between her two conspirators.

"Not yet, but I know of a couple other who would gladly help in the endeavor," David shook his head and then spun it toward Belle, "I have to get back to Henry. He's been having nightmares lately and I want to make sure it doesn't bother him tonight. We will talk later."


	5. Chapter 4: Doubts

**Chapter Four**: **Doubts**

Ruby walked down the street with a new skip to her step. She was finally clean after an early afternoon shower and the moon tonight was starting to wane. She was sure that there would be no wolf's time this evening. Even if the wolf decided to rear its head, she was more confident in her abilities and she will be able to calm it well enough that she wouldn't eat him or tear him in two.

She jumped up the steps and knocked on the door. There were a few stumbling steps inside, but eventually the door unlocked from the inside. Archie flattened a hand against his dark green sweater vest as if to straighten it as he stood just behind the door and looked at Ruby.

"Red," he bowed his head in greeting and a shy smile spread over his lips.

"Hey Jiminy," she smiled back and held up a bag packed special from the diner's kitchen, "Delivery."

"Thank you, you didn't have to. And be sure to thank Granny as well," he picked the bag from her hands as she walked past him. She looked around the room and noticed that he cleaned it up a little and had some of his scented candles lit. It was spick and span in her opinion; especially when she compared it to her personal room at the bed and breakfast.

"Did you go to the hospital?" she asked with a raised brow and turned around to look at him suspiciously as if to dare him to lie to her.

"Yes, I did," he nodded and put the food on the counter. He frowned a bit when he thought back to the experience and how much poking he had to go through, "They gave me a clean bill of health, except I have to keep up with the stretching and ice pack routine for a little while longer."

"Good," she nodded and knelt down as Pongo trotted out from the hallway at hearing her voice. She giggled and held out her arms for the dog to snuggle into, "There's my good boy. Took care of our patient, I see. Such a good boy. I have something for you!"

Archie watched from the counter and began to spoon and fork food onto separate plates since there was more than enough for both of them. He shook his head with an amused smirk as Ruby gave Pongo a couple of vanilla wafers, "Sometimes I think that he is more your dog than he will ever be mine."

"We've been through this," Ruby held up a finger to quiet him and stood up from the friendly dalmatian, "Although, he seems to recognize me as part of your pack."

"Oh?" Archie handed her a plate at which she carried over to the couch. He sat next to her and watched as Pongo walked into the kitchen to finish what was left in his bowl.

"Yup, classic signs of devotion," she smiled and turned her body toward him, her plate on her legs, "So, how are your ribs?"

"A little sore, but getting better," he nodded, "Did you only come over to check on me?"

"Maybe," she smirked again with a wink, "If you weren't so stubborn about taking care of others over yourself then I wouldn't have to. Someone has got to watch over you while you watch over everyone else."

He watched her as she shoved a forkful of food into her mouth as if to punctuate her point. He nodded in understanding and pushed some of his food around his plate, "Thank you."

"You would have done the same for me," she shrugged as if it was natural.

"Yeah, but not many would do the same for me, or know me well enough to check… so thank you," he put a hand over one of hers.

"Have you told Marco about it?" she carefully pulled her hand from under his so she could push some of her hair behind her ear.

"He heard from David and was actually the one to drive me to the hospital," he chuckled softly from the actions of his old friend, "He wanted to make sure that I lived. I think it is a personal goal of his to make me live longer than him."

"So, what are you going to do about your office?" she nibbled on the bread that Granny had baked earlier that day.

"Rebuild, maybe," he nodded and looked out the window to their side, "It was time to get new furniture anyway."

Ruby giggled a little and took another bite, "Going to go for a modern look?"

"I think it still remains to be seen on whether or not there will be an office once we go back home," he pondered out loud, "I am wondering if it would be worth it to make all the changes."

"Where else are you going to help out your patients while we are still stuck here?"

"I can always bring them here," he motioned to the room, "As long as I can keep it clean and Pongo out of the way."

"Pongo is a great addition, I think that he could be your mascot," Ruby smiled as the Dalmatian snorted and wagged his tail from his bed in the corner, "See, perfectly behaved."

"Only when you are around," Archie sighed, "He would be begging right now if he probably had his way. Maybe I should make you a permanent feature in here to keep him in check."

She coughed a little as her heart did an unexpected jump in her rib cage. She covered it well with her hand and offered another course of action, "You just got to learn how to talk with him."

"It's been a while since I have talked to other animals. Not since I had antennae and a green shell around my body," Archie chuckled a little and began to eat more heartily.

"Hm," Ruby responded and her eyes grew a little distant as her thoughts derailed for a moment. She thought back to the days that she and Jiminy would talk at the forest's edge and she would wish that she could know Jiminy the man just as well as she was getting to know Jiminy the cricket. She couldn't help thinking what he would be like as a human, who he was, what he looked like. Now, here he stood as a man. A human man. She was suddenly grateful for what she had of him, because not too long ago she had almost lost him.

"You're thinking so hard, I can almost hear it," Archie pointed at his own head to demonstrate and brought her back to the present, "What's wrong?"

"I… I don't want to stir anything up," she shook her head and put her plate on the small table to the side, "Forget it."

"No, it's important, I can tell," he put his plate to the side and held out a hand for her to grasp, "You know I won't judge and I will always be honest."

"I know, I just…" Ruby took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she asked the question before she could stop herself, "Why did you want to cross the line- the border?"

He sat back a little from her and she felt the movement. Immediately her eyes flew open and her hand grabbed the hand that was still reaching out toward her. She didn't want to him to pull away and as long as she kept her hands around his, he wouldn't. His eyes were downcast and traced the line that was made between his couch cushions and her pant leg. She looked at him worried, but when she searched his eyes she saw shame, guilt and sorrow.

"Just like the rest of the town…" he looked back up at her and frowned. His hand fell into his lap and she moved closer to keep their hands together, "…I was scared. Regina was getting her magic back, and we still hadn't found Pinocchio. Gepetto- Marco thought that it may be safer to leave. I couldn't leave him to do it by himself, Red. I owe him too much, a debt that can't be repaid. So I had to follow him and help him as much as I could. Even if I wouldn't remember."

Ruby ran her thumb over the back of his knuckles and watched the movement, "I know it sounds selfish, and maybe it is… I got _so_ mad at you. I felt like it was abandonment…You were about to take away one of my best friends. Despite what people think, I don't have many of those."

She flicked her eyes up to his and then immediately back down once she saw he was still staring intently at her.

"You were willing to just throw him away and I didn't know why. I just got you back, memories and all; and then just as quickly, you could have been g-gone," she stammered for a moment, but then picked it back up, "I was so mad and hurt. I did the only thing that I knew how to do. I ran from you and our friendship for a while."

"For what it is worth, I am sorry," he said softly and lifted her face up to connect with her eyes again, "I was a coward. I still am, in more than one way. I just…"

Her eyes widened as he thought and hesitated. His hand just under her chin felt much warmer than it probably should have and she felt her heart leap a few beats.

"Just promise me you won't do it," she said quietly and stared determined into his eyes, "Promise me you won't leave and forget me."

"I could never forget you," he said without hesitation and her heart sped up again. He coughed a little and brought the hand away from her chin to cover his mouth as he coughed into it. He regained his composure and nodded, "I promise."

"Good," she nodded tightly and stood up from the couch, "I think that is a great breakthrough for the night."

"You don't have to leave," he said a little too quickly and nearly hit his knees on his sitting table.

"But I should," Ruby nodded and walked toward the door with him right behind her. He opened the door for her and stood to the side. His face still held a silent plea for her to stay just a little longer, but she only smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder, "You going to drop by the diner for lunch? Like old times?"

"Just like every Monday," he nodded tightly when she walked past him, her hand slightly dragging from his shoulder and across part of his chest. He hesitated and then blurted out, "I've missed you, Red."

Her face fell just a bit, but she nodded, "I've missed you too, Jiminy."

He brightened somewhat at the words, "Tomorrow, I will be in my booth."

"And I will have your usual ready," she added with a wave and started down the sidewalk.

He watched from his doorway until he saw her turn down the street toward the bed and breakfast. In the back of his mind he kicked himself for not offering to walk her home, but he knew that she would have refused anyway. He could read her well enough to know that much. There was still a part of him that screamed at him from the bottom of his heart that he may have just missed an opportunity.

The part of him that knew that he was still very much smitten with her.

A large clash of dining ware grabbed his attention and he turned back inside the apartment. There he saw his dog over the plates that he and Ruby were using licking off the last of the dinners, "Pongo!"

* * *

Ruby made it back to the bed and breakfast in record time and nearly ran into another body as they rushed through the front foyer. The other person grabbed Ruby's arms to steady themselves and chuckled nervously, "Sorry, Ruby. I didn't see you I was in such a rush."

"Late meeting Naveen again, Tiana?" Ruby smiled knowingly at the young woman. Tiana had helped out with the bed and breakfast and the diner since Ruby had been recently keeping tabs on the books. She was a hard worker and she was trying her best to save up for her own sit down restaurant.

"Yeah, but he understands," Tiana laughed a little and then looked over Ruby's downturned smile, "Are you okay?"

"Just thinking," Ruby shrugged her off and began to push her toward the door, "Get out of here. I will take over now that I'm back. Go see your man."

"You mean man-child?" she laughed again and waved at her before she walked out the door, "I'll see you tomorrow at the diner."

"See you tomorrow," Ruby agreed and latched the door behind Tiana when she left.

"How is Archie doing?" Granny asked from the next room over where she was comfortable in her cushy chair, wrapped up in a blanket, her knitting over her lap.

"He went to the hospital as was instructed. He thanked you for the meal," Ruby dropped herself on the arm of the couch across from Granny.

"He's welcome," Granny paused in her knitting and looked at her granddaughter, "I have a feeling that something else happened. I wasn't expecting you home so early. Knowing you two, I thought that you would talk with him until the early morning hours."

"Yeah, I kind of messed that up," Ruby turned and fell over the arm of the couch to land on her back over the cushions, "As usual."

"I doubt that you could say anything that would mess it up too badly," she scoffed and took a hard look at Ruby, "You have that man wrapped around your finger."

Ruby rolled her eyes though her grandmother couldn't really see it.

"So, what did you do?"

"I asked him why he was going to cross the border and take away one of my best friends," she mumbled and kept her eyes to the ceiling, "It got a little awkward after that."

"Did he tell you why?"

"Because Marco thought that it was the best course of action and he wasn't going to leave his friend to fend for himself. And he was scared, just like everyone else. He promised me that he wouldn't do it. He won't cross until he can do so and keep Jiminy intact."

"That man's word is his bond," Granny nodded and looked at Ruby again who still kept her eyes to the ceiling. She was holding her tongue about something else, "What is it with you and holding your words lately?"

Ruby frowned and then shook her head. She rolled her legs to the side and stood from the couch. She leaned over Granny and gave her a kiss on the cheek, "Goodnight, Granny."

"Not going to talk about it?" Granny asked and followed Ruby with her eyes.

"_Goodnight_," Ruby repeated and headed up the stairs to her personal room.

Granny frowned and shook her head as she turned back to the knitting, "That girl… I really hope that Belle can help open her up."

Ruby got to her room and leaned back against her door once she closed it. She slid to the floor and looked over her room. She thought back to how her heart leapt at the thought of his touch on her face and how he was so earnest and so open. She almost stayed and would have stayed all night if he had asked her to. Now that she was alone again, she began to feel that small part of her that has always felt empty grow in her chest. The only time she ever felt like it filled was when she was with…

"It can't be," she shook her head and hugged herself.

Her eyes closed and she immediately saw his picture behind her eyelids. Her brows furrowed at the picture. He stood facing just a little away from her, his sweater a dark red, just like what he wore to Mary Margaret's return party with his dark leather jacket over. Dark slacks were under that with his ever present umbrella hanging off one arm as he read from a file held in his other hand. He looked up and smiled at her. Her heart leapt and her eyes flew open.

Her voice didn't seem to work and it barely squeaked out, "… what did I get myself into?"

* * *

Archie stumbled through his office, or at least what was left of it. He canceled the appointments that he originally made for the next week. He needed to get something together so he could start his practice again. As much as he liked the idea of working out of his home, he wasn't going to get anywhere with his patients if Pongo was licking their faces or barking from the backyard. He just got off the phone with a small moving company. They would bag what was totaled and then he would be able to discern what he actually needed.

"This is a little more work than I thought it would be," Marco said from the doorway and stepped over a ripped couch cushion.

"Yeah, I was hoping that it wasn't as bad as I remembered," Archie scratched at his head and ran his hand over the small butterfly bandages he had over the wound there, "How did you find me?"

"You always come to your office when there is something on your mind," Marco shrugged and sat at the edge of Archie's desk- which was miraculously in one piece. Archie huffed and Marco chuckled kindly, "So, what is on your mind?"

Archie picked up one of the throw pillows and looked at it for a few moments before he sat down heavily next to Marco and tossed the pillow to the side, "I… I don't know what to do."

"Listen to what it is saying inside," Marco poked at his friend's chest, "That's what you had always told me. It has worked so far."

"This is a bit different when that little voice is saying too many differentiating things," Archie said as he pushed from the desk and walked toward the middle of the room. He began to shuffle what was left of a wooden chair with his foot and his brows furrowed in thought. Marco took in his stance and the way his shoulders sunk like he had the weight of the world placed upon them.

"Ah," Marco said knowingly, "So this has to do with a woman."

"Ye- no!" Archie held out a hand toward his romantically inclined friend and shook his head, "Don't, Marco."

"I am only trying to help you," Marco offered and crossed his arms over his chest, "If she is worth her merit than she would see for certain what a great catch you are. You are kind, gentle, honest- a good man. I don't see where there is a problem."

"A good man," Archie echoed with a sad chuckle, "You sure you don't want to amend that statement?"

"We have all made our mistakes."

Archie paused and put his hands on his hips while he looked up at the ceiling of his practice, noting the new holes that were made while the goons tried to hit his light fixtures. He let out a deep breath and shook his head.

"You are in your prime, enjoy it!" Marco smiled.

"I am older than you are," Archie threw back.

"Not in these bodies," Marco patted himself over his chest. He walked out to his friend and put and hand on each shoulder, "You have looked over my happiness for years. Maybe it is time to find your own? Huh?"

"She deserves better," he quietly muttered, but immediately regretted it.

"Ah, so who is the _donna fortunata*_?" Marco's eyes lit up.

"No one," Archie shook his head and looked at his watch. It was getting close to one and if he didn't leave he was going to be late. He looked up at Marco, "Do you want to grab some lunch?"

Marco kept his eyes directly on his friend's and tried to get him to open up. Everyone talked out their problems with him, but he never seemed to do the same. Locked up in everyone else's problems and miseries, he never could focus on his own. Until now it would seem. Knowing that he wouldn't get anything else from his friend at the moment he nodded.

"Okay," Marco sighed and patted Archie on the back as they walked out the door, "Okay."

* * *

"Table 10 is up!" Ruby yelled out from behind the counter, transferring the last of the lunch rush toward Tiana. As the younger woman bussed the last table, Ruby leaned back on the counter and wiped at her forehead. Maybe it was just her, but it seemed like that was the busiest that they had been since before the curse broke.

"That was a bit on the wild side, wasn't it?" Belle asked from her seat at the bar, just to Ruby's right. Both women looked out over the full diner, minus one booth.

"You're telling me," Ruby sighed and looked up at the clock. It was just after one. He might just be running behind.

"You keep looking at the clock," Belle noted and raised her brow, "Are you expecting someone?"

"Yes," Ruby nodded and looked at Belle, "Archie said he would be coming in today for lunch."

"Really?" Belle leaned forward, "Anything I need to know about?"

Ruby leaned over the counter to almost touch nose to nose with her nosey friend, "No. And don't go turning this into one of your mushy romance novels, either."

"But those are so much fun," Belle pouted and then leaned back to sip on her iced tea.

"You are horrible, you know that?" Ruby asked and pointed accusingly at her friend, "Does Gold know what a handful you are?"

"And then some," Belle nodded.

Ruby smirked and her head jerked up when she heard the diner's bell ring. There in the doorway was Archie and Marco. They both nodded to her from the entrance and made a beeline for the booth. Tiana came back to the counter to pick up two menus when Ruby placed a hand on her arm.

"I got this one, Tiana," she said softly and tilted her head, "Why don't you go take your break?"

"I won't argue," Tiana shook her head and walked toward the back of the diner.

Ruby poked her head through the order window, "Can I get a number four- extra sauce and a number seven, no mayo!"

As the order was being filled, she quickly filled two glasses with water and put them on a server's tray before placing the two new plates from the window.

"How do you know their order?" Belle asked with a quirk of her lip.

"It's what they always order," Ruby shifted her head haughtily and walked the tray over to the table of the two men. Marco kept up some talk with Archie until she reached the table where Archie gave him a pointed look.

"You were a little behind schedule," Ruby said with a wide smile, none the less happy to see him as she sat down the tray. Archie smiled, a little more relaxed at seeing her as her normal, bright self. Both men picked off their dish and their glasses of water.

"Marco stopped by," Archie explained and looked at the two plates and then up at her with a hesitant smile, "Are you going to join us?"

"In about ten minutes," she explained and looked over her shoulder, "I just sent poor Tiana on break before I put in your orders."

"That poor _signorina**_," Marco tusked, "You are going to run her ragged, Ruby."

"She puts it on herself, no matter how much I ask her to let me help with tables," Ruby held up her hand and the tray as if in mock surrender. She pointed at the two of them and narrowed her eyes, "You two are still going to be here when I get back, right?"

"I'm not going anywhere," Archie said in a serious tone, which both Ruby and Marco caught.

"I know," she relaxed a little and nodded with a genuine smile, "I will be back before you know it."

As she walked away, Archie kept his eyes on her until she turned around the counter. As he lifted his eyes from her and turned back to food, Marco made a small scoff of a laugh. Archie looked at his friend who held a large and knowing grin on his face.

"What?" Archie asked in a nonchalant manner.

"A very lucky woman, indeed," Marco said simply and took a bit out of his sandwich.

"Now, Marco-"

"Where were you going before?" Marco immediately asked and Archie put a hand to his face.

"We are just friends," Archie reminded him.

"If you keep in that mind frame, than yes, you are," Marco leaned over his plate and toward Archie, "Does she know?"

"Know what?"

"That you have feelings for her?" Marco asked and pushed at Archie's arm.

Archie took a deep breath, "I don't think… look, Marco-"

"You did ask her that one time before the curse was broken," Marco reminded him and looked over his shoulder at Ruby talking a few things over with Belle, "What was her answer then?"

Archie paused and then shook his head, "Let's let it lie, Marco. That was in a different life."

"Was it?" Marco frowned slightly and pointed at his friend's face, "You don't do something with your life, it will be a waste. You never had lived."

"I did do something with my life. I helped to raise both you and Pinocchio!" he said with as little volume as he could, "And that is something I am very proud of."

"But have you lived your life for you?" Marco pointed out and took another large bite.

Archie took a breath to answer that, when he found he couldn't. Everything he had done was for another. His whole childhood and teen years were dedicated to his parents. His escape from them in cricket form was in part self imposed servitude to Gepetto for his sins against the boy's parents. Then Pinocchio, whom he helped through his adventure to find his father. He couldn't think of a single instance, outside becoming a cricket, that was done for himself.

"I think that it is time that you started," Marco finished after he swallowed his bite.

"So," Ruby sat down next to Archie with a turkey sandwich, much like his own with a side of fries and a glass of some kind of soda, "What is on the agenda today?"

Archie hesitated, still in a bit of a mind swirl from the revelation that Marco hand landed him with. Instead, Marco took charge.

"We are trying to figure out just how much furniture can be saved from Archie's office," Marco explained and shifted his hand as if to say 'what can you do?', "I can only fix so much, and furniture is not really my forte."

"Is it really that bad?" Ruby asked and turned from Marco and to Archie.

He looked into her eyes and then into his glass of water, "It may just be."

Marco smirked at his small victory and looked over at the counter where Belle sat. He flashed a quick smile and held thumbs up under the table so she could see it. Belle smiled back and enjoyed the last of her iced tea.

* * *

**A/N**: So, I had a little fun with this chapter with Marco and Archie. Especially after that somewhat serious discussion between our lovely cricket and wolf just before. I hope all of you had a wonderful Valentine's Day and shared it with someone special. Below are the two translations from Marco. It seemed a bit fitting that I have him insert some lovely Italian into his wording. Hope you enjoy!

*_ donna fortunata= lucky girl, lucky woman_

**_ signorina= girl, miss_


	6. Chapter 5: Celebration Cut Short

**Chapter Five****: Celebrations Cut Short**

A few more days passed and Ruby and Archie found their regular routine mix easily with their old memories. Archie stopped by for his regular every lunch time he could spare, while Ruby joined him at his table to talk about the books she's just read from Belle's insistence, his plans for his office and where she wanted to visit if they were ever able to leave Storybrooke.

"I think that I want to go to Disneyland," she said off the top of her head one lunch break.

Archie's eyes lifted from his meal and focused on her face which held a lofty, thoughtful expression as she looked over his shoulder and through the windows. He crossed his hands over one another and sighed, "I may kick myself for this later, but why of all places do you want to go there?"

"Because everyone has," she shrugged and looked at him. He lifted one brow and took a breath to answer when she interrupted him, "Okay, well… everyone normal."

He chuckled with a nod as he turned back to his meal, "I just don't understand the appeal. We are from a fairytale land, right? Why go to a place that tries to copy it?"

"To see how close they got, for one," Ruby shrugged and then took a sip of her drink.

He pointed an accusing finger at her with a smirk, "You've thought of this, haven't you?"

"Maybe," she rolled her eyes playfully to the ceiling of the diner.

Before he could answer, Ruby jumped from the vibration of her cell phone. She sighed and flipped it open. Her mouth fell open just a bit and shifted in her seat.

"Red, what's wrong?" Archie asked concerned.

"It's Leroy, there's something wrong," she answered and shifted to get out of the booth, "I have to go to the mines."

"Should I come with you?" Archie asked and wiped off his face with a napkin ready to go with her.

"No," Ruby said with a shake of her head, "I know you don't do well with dark enclosed mines."

"I can always face my fears if the right motivation presents itself," he said while she threw her jacket on and the sentence made her pause. He put a hand on her arm for a moment and she turned back toward him with a look he knew as her stubborn streak. He sighed and nodded at her knowing she wouldn't let him follow her, "Be careful."

"Don't worry; it's a different part of the mines. I just hope it isn't as bad as I think it is," she reminded him with a quick smile before she ran out the diner door. Archie stood from his seat and placed his part of the tab on the table.

* * *

Over the next two hours Archie wondered over the small town, on edge and worried. He knew that the diamonds in the mines were the ticket back home and the only source of magic that they had. After Ruby went running off after Leroy's call to check on them, he hadn't been able to reach her. He would be and should be more worried about her, but if Ruby was anything it was strong and tenacious. She would be okay and he would have to believe that. Archie held Pongo's leash in his hand as the dalmatian pulled at him to follow him back toward the diner.

"She's not going to be there, boy," Archie muttered at the dog and pulled back on the leash to turn them back toward his apartment, "It looks like no vanilla wafers for you today."

"Jiminy?"

Archie turned toward the voice to see a beaming Ruby running- no, skipping toward him, "Red?"

"She's back!" she squealed and ran right smack into him, flinging her arms around him, "Snow's back with Emma and David's awake and… and they're back."

"That's great news," he beamed at the thought. Good won again, "What about the mine?"

"It looks like they will be digging deeper. Gold and Regina took every single diamond that the dwarves found, but we will find more," she looked up at him, her arms still around his chest. Her hair flowed over and around her cheeks, which never seemed to let up from her smile.

Pongo began to bound around her and whined for her attention. Ruby let go of Archie to kneel down and hug the dog, "Hey Pongo!"

"So where are their majesties?" Archie asked, saddened by the loss of her hug.

"Dinner at Granny's on me," she smiled from her place by Pongo. She carefully stood up and pulled on his sleeve much like Pongo does on his leash, "I was wondering if the town conscious wanted to come too. You missed the last celebration; I thought that you'd like this one."

He smiled and then quickly pointed to the dog at their feet, "Only if Pongo can come too."

"He's always welcome," Ruby nodded back and rubbed Pongo's head. The two made their way back toward the diner. Ruby seemed to spread her own joy because he couldn't help picking up on it.

The celebration was short, but well worth it. The Charmings were beaming as they were finally reunited and even Emma seemed more at ease in the reunion with her parents as long as Henry was by her side. Others trickled their way in even as the party was closing. Belle made an appearance and sat next to Ruby as she introduced her to Snow and Emma- who had reservations about the young woman being in love with the town pawn broker and dark magician. Belle waved it off as usual. Ruby laughed at the introductions and at Belle's flippancy of the subject.

"She's always been a social butterfly," Granny said as she sat next to Archie and poured him some more of the lemonade. She leaned back against the chair that sat opposite him where Ruby was sitting only a little while ago.

Archie nodded and sipped at the glass, "She looks so happy now that Mary Margaret is back."

"Snow has always been a part of our family, our pack," Granny explained and watched Ruby hug Snow around the shoulders and smile, "They've been like sisters since they first met."

"Re- Ruby told me," Archie nodded softly and looked down at the sleeping Dalmatian at his feet, "I think I should head out. Pongo is out and I think it's time to hit the hay."

"You want me to get Ruby?" Granny asked.

Archie looked back at her in the middle of a laugh from something that Henry had said, "No, she's having her fun. I will talk with her soon enough. Thank you for the meal, Granny."

"Any time, my boy," Granny smiled and nodded at him as she got up.

As Archie left through the front of the diner, he took a quick look back at her and their friends. He knew he was invited and he knew he was accepted. They laughed with one another and jumped from table to table to talk with one another and catch up. He had done so for the first part of the party until he placed himself at a table and watched the celebrations unfold. These were people that he would gladly give his life for, but he still wasn't the social butterfly that she was. He loved the glow of a warm fire, Pongo at his feet and a good book wrapped in his hands.

"Come on," he called to Pongo, "Let's get back home and get some shut eye."

Inside, Ruby looked up and found his chair empty. Her smile dropped and she looked at Granny who gave her a small shrug. She frowned, but turned back to Mary Margaret who yawned heavily in her face.

"Sounds like someone is ready to hit the hay," Ruby laughed.

"I think that sounds like a fantastic idea," Emma agreed and held Henry over her lap, still attached to her son.

"Don't let me stop you," Ruby held up her hands and then pointed to the six dwarves around them, "Just make sure to take your royal guard with you."

"Will do," Mary Margaret nodded and hugged Ruby around the neck, "Thank you for the food and for taking care of Charming for me."

"Someone had to," Ruby hugged her back.

"Okay, time to clean up!" Granny called out to the party goers, "Unless you want to help with clean up, out you go."

Most of the patrons picked up their items and left to their respected homes. Belle sat at the counter with her hands folded over her lap. Ruby looked at her with a questioning tilt to her head, "You staying for a little bit?"

"I am good at cleaning up," Belle offered and Ruby smiled.

"So be it," Ruby agreed and looked toward Granny, "Why don't you head home? With Belle, we should have this cleaned up in no time."

"I would like to get some more sleep," Granny yawned and nodded her head, "That settles it. I am heading to my bed. You two girls mind your business."

"Will do," Belle nodded and hopped off her swivel bar stool.

"I will be home soon enough," Ruby assured her and Granny waved at them both as she walked out the door. Ruby immediately turned to Belle, "You collect the dishes and silverware and I will start with the wiping down."

"Yes, ma'am," Belle play saluted her and started on her job.

The girls worked in silence for the most part. They moved from the tables to the floors, Belle with a broom and Ruby with a mop. Belle soon began to grow bored and cleared her throat a few times before Ruby finally sighed and turned to her.

"Yes?" Ruby asked with a knowing smile.

"How was your day?" Belle asked as if trying to start conversation.

"Do you want to ask the question you really want to ask?"

"I was wondering," Belle stopped her sweeping and leaned against the thin broom, "how Doctor Hopper was doing…"

"Good…" Ruby raised a brow, "He has ordered his new furniture for his office and it should be ready by next week. His ribs have been doing well, too. You want to ask on Pongo now?"

"No, I'm okay," Belle began to sweep again, "… unless you have a crush on the dog too."

"I do not have a crush on Archie!" Ruby lunged at Belle, but the sweeper danced out of her reach.

"You do too, you just don't know it," Belle chuckled at the red streaks that danced along Ruby's cheeks, "Or are denying it."

"_You_ don't know what you are talking about," Ruby huffed and applied the mop to the bucket, making it spill some of the water to the floor, "Archie and I are just friends who enjoy one another's company. Old friends who find their solace in one another… have lunch nearly every day and make sure that the other is taken care of…"

As she began to list more things, the sweep of the mop began to slow, "…who care about one another and the pain that haunts them… who knows everything about the other and still doesn't run… Oh my God."

"Yup," Belle smiled brightly, "I was hoping there was a defining point for you tonight."

Ruby's eyes were focused on the mop under her hands, but then slowly her eyes trailed up and focused on Belle. Her mouth flapped uselessly for a few moments until she shook her head.

"Don't try to backtrack now," Belle shook her finger at her.

"I really don't need-" Ruby began, but stopped when she heard the diner bell ring. She was sure that Granny had locked that when she left. There was a man dressed completely in black and a hook as a hand in her doorway. She saw Belle freeze and the wolf in her began to growl and she could almost feel her heckles rise. She stepped in front of her friend and frowned at the man.

"Sorry, but we're closed," Ruby gritted through teeth as if to warn the man off.

"I am not here for the food," he said in a calm and nonchalant voice. He walked around the corners of the room and began to circle the women, "I am here for the lovely girl behind you."

"Not happening," Ruby frowned and kept herself between the man and her friend.

"Although, I could always take both of you," he said simply and threw some powder the women's faces.

Ruby shook her head as she inhaled the powder floating around her head. Her eyes swirled as they tried to focus and she reached back to try to hold Belle's hand. She looked back as she stumbled and found Belle already on the floor, knocked out cold. Her head whipped around to face him again.

"You are a strong one, aren't you?" he walked up to her and held his hook under her chin, "Very gorgeous, too. Go to sleep, love."

"I… I'm not… yo… love," she tried to spit out, but then fell to the side and to the floor.

"Well," Hook straightened up and looked around the dinner for a moment, "That was a bit easier than I thought."

Hook hoisted Belle over one shoulder and Ruby over the other. He groaned a little at the weight, but only repositioned them a little and continued on his way back to the dock. He chuckled a little humorlessly, "I'm glad that the old crocodile didn't choose anyone heavier, otherwise this would be an insurmountable task."

He watched his surroundings and thought that the town must be a bit of a snore if all they all were asleep by this time. A shame really. There was so much fun to be found in the dark hours of the night. He walked up the gangplank into his ship and straight into the captain's quarters. As soon as he walked into the room, Cora stood up and watched him toss the two women onto the bed.

"I thought that he only had one love," Cora mentioned and looked at the two of them, "At least that's what you surmised from the last meeting with my daughter."

"He does," Hook nodded and pointed to Belle and then shifted to Ruby, "This one was with her and the last thing we need is witnesses."

"There is always killing them," Cora turned toward Ruby with her hand aglow with a dark magic, but he caught it before she got too far.

"I want that one," Hook smirked, "She's strong. Almost fought herself out of the affects of the poppy dust. She could prove useful."

"You have a soft spot for women," Cora huffed and pulled her hand from his grip. She shook her head and began to walk out the door.

"Where are you going?" he called after her.

"We have come to the end of our bargain, Captain," Cora said and picked at her gloves before she looked back up at him, "We have made it to Storybrooke. I am anxious to find my daughter and you have a vengeance to cash in on. I think for now, we should say ado."

"Until a later time, madam," he bowed toward her.

"Until later, Hook," Cora nodded her head and walked out of the Captain's quarters and down the gangplank toward Storybrooke.

Hook turned toward his two captives and sighed heavily, "Now what to do with you ladies."

* * *

Granny hurried up the steps to the front of the diner. She was a bit worried with Ruby not coming home the night before when she had said that she would. Seeing as Belle was with her, they may have decided on a girl's night at Belle's instead. Granny pushed at the door and found it open and her senses went into overdrive. Ruby may have been careless in the past, but she would never leave the diner open like this. She carefully pushed the door open and kept her ears open for any sounds of intruders and sniffed the air. She smelled her granddaughter all over the diner, which wasn't unusual, but it was all scents that have been left behind over time. She also smelled Belle over by the counter and over the side of the diner that looked swept. There was a different scent that she had never encountered before- something with sweat, leather and sea salt.

"Ruby?" she called out into the diner when she didn't hear anything out of the usual, "Ruby, why is the door open?"

Granny stepped into the room and noticed that Ruby had left the mop and broom out, just sitting on the floor. Around the counter she found the plates on the drying rack, but not back in their proper place. The floor was half mopped, and the bucket for the soapy water was tipped over and the water ran past a few tables. Granny shook her head as she looked over the mess. This was wrong. Something was very wrong.

She reached over to the phone on the wall and punched in the numbers. She waited as her eyes took in the mess as the other line finally picked up, "David!"

"_Granny what's wrong?"_ he groaned on the other end as he was waking up.

"Ruby's gone," Granny said quickly, "She was supposed to clean up last night, but I came in this morning and it's a mess, half clean. She wouldn't leave it like this, even during the curse, she was never this careless."

"_Okay, calm down. Would she go anywhere in a hurry?"_

"And just leave the front door open?" Granny asked back which earned a thoughtful hum.

"_I will be there in a few minutes. Stay calm."_

"Okay, thank you, David…" she hung up the phone and sat on one of the chairs. She tried to find a tracking scent for Belle or Ruby, but it disappeared before it reached the door. Maybe she could try to find something outside the doors. She hopped off the chair and walked to the door. As she opened it, she nearly walked right into someone.

"I'm sorry, Granny," Archie chuckled and tried to keep the woman on her feet, "Not open yet?"

"Archie," Granny frowned and pulled the man inside the diner.

"Whoa! What's wrong?" he asked as he stumbled into the diner and looked at the inside. This wasn't like either of the Lucas women to keep it in any kind of disarray.

"Ruby and Belle are missing," Granny said immediately and put her hands in his, "She was supposed to close and come home. She didn't come home last night."

Archie's breath left his body in one whoosh as if someone had punched him. He coughed a little and looked around the area as if Ruby was going to waltz out from the back like usual. He shook his head and regained normal breathing, "Have you told David?"

"He should be here in a moment or two,"' she nodded.

Archie took the seat that was directly behind him and looked at the ground. He put both hands on the top of his umbrella that he had in front of him, "… who would… where could they have gone?"

Granny sat next to him and put her hand on his back. The diner bell rang and they both looked up to see not only David, but Emma as well walk in. Emma looked around and frowned, "I can see the worry. Ruby never opened like this."

"Never, she was proud of this place," Archie mumbled into his folded hands.

"When did you get here?" David asked.

"He came in for his morning coffee only a few minutes after I hung up with you," Granny explained.

"So, how are we going to do this?" Emma wondered and poked her shoe against the mop.

"Can you track her?" David asked Granny.

"I haven't found any scent that I can track them with," Granny shook her head.

"You won't need to."

The ever growing group turned their attention to the diner door where Gold just walked in with a piece of paper in his hand. He limped to the side of the group and leaned on the counter.

"What's going on, Gold?" Emma asked with a frown. She didn't need him complicating things. He always had a knack of doing so.

"It looks like there was another way here other than the well," he turned his attention to Emma and then to David and the rest of the group, "Cora is here… and she brought Hook with her."

"How do you know?" Emma asked and lunged forward to grab the paper out of his hand. She read it over a few times and then shook her head as he looked back up at him, "It's impossible!"

"Apparently not," Gold growled and tried to stay calm, "The dear captain has Belle and Miss Lucas."

"Who is Hook?" Archie asked from the chair.

"An unfortunate acquaintance of my past," Gold explained and turned to David. His face softened just a little as he knew David knew how he felt and fought for Belle, "He wants me to fight him once again for Belle. I am fairly certain that he still thinks I don't have my magic. If Cora is with him, I will need some help to get Belle back."

"Why would he take Ruby?" David asked.

"Miss Lucas was probably just in the wrong place at the wrong time," Gold's eyes flicked back to Granny and then on Archie who looked more worried than he usually did, "If we don't follow his rules, she will be the first one…"

"What?" Archie stood up, "First one what?"

"… dispatched," Gold ended and frowned.

"Where is he?" David asked and pulled at the paper still in his daughter's hands.

"The port, on his ship," Gold shifted on his feet, eager to go get Belle.

"Then that's where we will go," David nodded and turned to Emma, "Are you ready?"

"I faced them before, I will do it again," she nodded and began to walk out the door with Gold and David.

"Wait!" Archie stepped forward and stopped them before they exited the building, "I am going with you."

"What is a cricket going to do?" Gold asked a little impatient on getting to his true love.

"That's Ruby you are talking about," he said with gritted teeth, "I won't let her be 'dispatched'. No matter what the consequence may be."

"Okay, we get it," Emma grabbed Archie by the arm and pulled him with them, "Let's get going."

Granny stayed behind and sat heavily on her chair, "Bring her home."


	7. Chapter 6: Enter Villians

**Chapter Six**: **Enter Villains**

Ruby groaned as she came to and tried to get her eyes to focus. Where ever she was, it was dark and it took a little more time for her wolf vision to kick in. She shook her head to get her mind back in order. Her hands were bound together behind her back and her legs were tied together at the ankles which did not help her calm her wolf senses. She blinked a few times and saw corners of furniture and felt the soft edge of a mattress under her body. She tried to roll over only to hit against another soft object, which immediately groaned.

"Belle?" Ruby whispered and scooted herself into a seated position before she looked back at her friend, "Belle, are you okay?"

"Ruby?" Belle asked in a speaking voice.

"Shh," Ruby hissed and took a better look around the room. It was ornate and screamed about the ego of the man that had captured them. Carved heavy wood in overly decorative styles surrounded the equally over stuffed bed they were on. Gold pieces hung around them and she was sure that nearly every fabric was either velvet or silk. She frowned and pushed at her friend, "We need to get out of here."

"I know him," Belle whispered this time and tried to roll over to look up at Ruby, "He tried to get me to help him to kill Rumple before- when I was under Regina's control."

"Then he will try to use you again," Ruby nodded and kept her ears open for anything that may signal an incoming prison guard, or their captor, "Do you remember anything else about him?"

"He's a liar and a bad one at that," Belle scoffed.

"You wound me."

Ruby narrowed her eyes and before she could focus on the dark corner a light erupted from it. It was the same man with the same wardrobe from earlier and he carried a small lantern on the hook that she remembered well. Ruby backed up against her friend, still willing to protect her.

"Who are you?" she growled.

"I am sorry, where are my manners?" he put the lantern down and bowed toward them both, "I am known as Captain Hook. The pleasure is mine, I am sure."

"Why are we here, _Captain_?" Ruby snarled, "I don't recall accepting an invitation to a pirate ship."

"_You_ are just the bonus," he smiled suavely at Ruby and then moved his eyes to Belle, "I was after your friend there. She's the key to bringing the old crocodile to me."

"Crocodile?" Belle frowned and looked up at Ruby and then back at Hook, "What are you talking about?"

"The Dark One," Hook explained in an exasperated sigh, "The one who took my hand… and my true love."

"How did he…" Belle frowned and then shook her head in complete refusal, "I won't let you hurt him."

"You don't have much of a choice," he pointed at her, "I already sent out the ransom demands and he will come for you."

"What are demanding of him?"

"A duel," he said with a small smile and turned to Ruby. He ran a hand down the side of her face and then twirled pieces of her hair around his finger. He brought it up to his nose and took a sniff before he leaned back, "You remind me of someone. Someone from long ago."

"And you remind me of a slime bag," Ruby snapped back and jerked her head back to make him let go of her hair, "Let Belle and I go. You have no idea who you are dealing with here."

"Don't I?" Hook let his hook glitter in the light of the lantern. Then they all heard foot falls on the hardwood over their heads, "Seems like I have a visitor to deal with. I will be sure to let the crocodile see you one last time before I dispatch him. Maybe I should give you a few cuts in front of him to let him know just what I can do."

"Leave him alone!" Belle threw herself up and tried to wriggle herself toward the pirate, but he only chuckled and left the room down a separate corridor. Belle struggled against the rope around her wrists and tried to get free, "We have to stop him! He can't!"

"Belle, Belle, don't worry," Ruby tried to calm her down and pushed against her shoulder, "Settle down. We will get out of this. Gold has his ways and now that he has magic… he won't let anything happen to you."

"I don't like how this is going," Belle admitted.

"Neither do I," Ruby said and shifted her weight. She heard a second set of foot falls join the other set above their heads. It sounded like the captain met his visitor, "Let me see if I can get to your wrists and get you untied. When we are free of the ropes maybe we can find our way out and free of the ship."

"Ship?" Belle asked as she felt Ruby's hands on hers.

"I assumed since we are dealing with a captain here, that these are his quarters," Ruby explained and motioned her head around the room even though Belle couldn't see it.

"Good assumption. I didn't feel the motion of the waves under us until you said something."

"Now, stay still," Ruby struggled and groaned in exasperation as her fingers kept slipping, "I can't get a grip on the rope."

"Let me try."

As her friend repositioned her hands she heard the foot falls above their heads stall. Ruby shushed her and her eyes focused not on the ceiling, but on the doorway at their side. Ruby grazed her fingertips with Belle's.

* * *

"It's been a while, clever crocodile," Hook greeted as he reached the poop deck. He put his good hand over the hilt of his sword and looked down at the man who now moved to the main deck.

"Indeed," Gold greeted back, his cane under both his hands and his posture straight, "Tell me… just how did you keep your good looks over these hundreds of years?"

"Want to know the secret?" Hook smirked and walked closer to the man, "Neverland."

"That bean did work then?" Gold nodded in answer to his own question, "Well, now that the mystery is solved… give me Belle back."

"Your woman?" Hook asked with a wider smirk, "So she was a better pawn piece than I thought. The queen was right. It was a good thing that she stopped me from killing her. At least until now."

"I only ask once," Gold reminded him.

"This is another land, you have no magic. I have waited so long for this," Hook smiled brightly and rushed at him, his hook held high. As he was about to bring the hook down on him, Gold lifted his hand and froze the hook in mid swing, along with the man attached to it.

"Never assume anything, dearie," Gold grinned and took hold of his cane. He looked at it longingly and then reared back and hit Hook with the heavy end, sending the pirate reeling backwards and to the deck. Gold huffed and stood straight to adjust his tie and jacket.

Emma came up on the deck and looked from Hook to Gold, "Did you have to use your cane?"

"I could have just killed him," Gold lifted his hand which glowed purple. His eyes shifted to the unconscious pirate and his mouth moved to shape into a snarl, "I still can."

"I think that we need him to know what Cora has in store for us," she held up a hand toward him which stopped him from continuing, "It wouldn't be smart to kill off a good source of information."

"That reminds me," he waved his hand as if to wave off the magic, "Where is that vile excuse of a woman? And where are they hiding Belle?"

"Let's find out after we get him under some kind of restraint," Emma nodded toward Hook. Hook then began to float in the air, until he was thrown against the mast and a dozen ropes wrapped themselves around him. Emma looked at Gold, "That should do."

"Now, let's find Belle."

* * *

"Show yourself!" Ruby barked at the door as it began to open, thinking that it was the captain once again. The door fell open at her command and Archie nearly fell in after it.

"Jiminy!" Ruby cried out without pause with a large smile, though the name confused Belle a little.

Archie made a beeline for Ruby and held her face in his hands, "Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"

"I'm fine, just tied up," he shrugged her shoulders to elaborate. He nodded and began to work on her hands before he yelled over his shoulder, "They're in here!"

David came through the same doorway and made his way over to Belle to help with her ropes, "Gold is facing off against Hook at the moment. Serves as a great distraction."

"Is he okay?" Belle asked hurriedly, "Is Rum okay?"

"I would worry more about Hook."

Ruby's hand bindings finally fell and she immediately wound her arms around Archie's neck and hugged him close. He returned the gesture as one arm went around her waist and the other hand went into her hair. His nose became buried in her hair and he took a deep breath in. He released it in a rush of relief now that he knew she was safe.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but I was not expecting you on the rescue team," Ruby murmured into his shirt collar.

"Neither did some of the others," he smiled even though she couldn't see it, "But it was you, and I couldn't just sit by and wait. Not this time."

She leaned back from the hug and looked up at his face. For once she was stopped. She didn't have anything to say and she couldn't find any words. Instead she smiled and quickly kissed him on the cheek. His back straightened and he was startled a little from the small action.

"You wanna get my legs undone so we can get out of here, hero?" Ruby asked when he hesitated.

"Of course," he nodded and began at the ropes around her ankles. He was glad the captain kept his quarters so dark even with the bright morning outside. His face was probably redder than his hair at this point.

"Where is Rumple?" Belle asked as she hopped off the bed.

"Probably about to kill Hook," David nodded and began to walk out the door, "Hopefully Emma will convince him otherwise. Come on."

The team of four made their way to the top deck where they saw Emma and Gold starting their way toward them and a tied up Hook on the mast. Belle was the first to break free of the group and ran all the way to Gold. As soon as he saw her, he opened his arms and she jumped into them. He held her tight and ran a hand through her hair. He threw a look toward David once she was back in his arms that read as a thank you without any words. Emma walked the rest of the way to the others and turned to look back.

"It still kind of boggles the noggin, you know?" Emma shrugged and looked at the two of them.

"You get used to it," David explained and took a step forward to look at the knocked out captain on the mast, "What to do with him?"

"We need to know where Cora went," Emma said immediately, "He's the only one who may know where she might have gone."

"Then we need to keep an eye on him. Lock him up," David nodded and tossed Emma the keys to the station, "Lock him up in a cell. He's your responsibility until we find out what to do with him."

"My responsibility?!"

"You are still the sheriff," David shrugged, "I only took your place until you got back."

"Listen here, _Dad_…"

"This is going to take a while," Ruby muttered and curved her arm into the nook of Archie's, "You want to walk me home and make sure that Granny isn't having a coronary? I know she must have found the place a mess and is worrying about me. I know her heart isn't in the best of shape, either."

"It would be my pleasure," Archie said with a nod and tossed a look to the others before he turned and walked with her down the gang plank and toward town. He held her arm in his and soaked up the feeling of her head against his shoulder. If he didn't know any better, he could have guessed that they were a couple walking down the street from an outsider's perspective. He rolled his eyes at himself. She didn't think that way and the kiss on the cheek was merely a thank you for getting her out of the ship.

"How'd you guys know to find us on the ship?" Ruby asked, still glued to his side.

"Hook wanted Gold, so he sent him a letter and demands for Belle's release. He didn't count on you."

"Yeah, he called me a bonus," Ruby spat and frowned before she rubbed her cheek against his shoulder, "Probably thought that I would swoon for his pretty boy looks."

"You were never one to swoon," Archie nodded and looked down at her.

"I've never had a reason to as of yet," she said back with a smile. She felt her own face flush a little and she thought another course of conversation should stop it from continuing, "Where is Snow? She is never one to miss a good fight."

"Watching Henry," he smiled, "At least she knows how to keep him in one place. Not many of us do."

"This is true. I remember when I tried to watch him when David-"

"Ruby!" Granny rushed out from the diner and toward her granddaughter. Ruby let go of Archie's arm and braced herself for Granny's impact. The woman scooped up Ruby in a bear hug and then began to check her over. When she was satisfied she looked over at Archie, "Thank you and the others for finding her and bringing her back."

"It wasn't a-" Archie tried to placate the situation until he was scooped up in one of her hugs as well.

"Where are the others?" Granny asked and looked behind him.

"Gold is reacquainting himself with Belle and will probably have her super glued to his side for the next week," Ruby said with a smile, "Will you let the poor guy breath, Granny?"

Granny let go of Archie and he straightened himself, "David and Emma are… conversing on what to do with Hook. It seems like he is our only link to Cora."

"Well, this has been a full morning," Granny swiped her hands together and waved at both of them, "Come on in and get some breakfast. The others will probably be along soon enough."

Granny climbed the stairs and left the door open for them to follow. Ruby took Archie by the hand and led him inside before he could refuse.

"Come on, hero," she smirked at his new nickname, "We will get you set up with your favorite and some warm coffee."

"Are you going to join me?" he asked with a small smile.

"Of course," she nodded and pulled him into the diner.

* * *

Cora walked the streets of the town and smiled at how quaint they all seemed. She followed a faint magic trail down the street that surprised her. For one, that there was any magic in this world to begin with; and two that it reeked of her daughter. She turned down the last street and saw the large house surrounded by large hedges.

"This world's equivalent to a castle," Cora thought out loud and tilted her head in a passing judgment, "I suppose it will do."

She made her way up the sidewalk and took a breath as she reached the door. She patted down her dress and looked at the ancient, dried rose in her hands. She closed her eyes and then knocked on the door. She heard some shuffling of feet inside and then the door opened slowly.

"Gold, I am not in the mood-" Regina began, but was cut short by the picture of her mother standing in the doorway. She paused and the look of absolute terror washed over her features, "Mother?"

"Hello, Regina," Cora greeted her with a smile and walked through the door only to close it behind her, "I have missed you."

"But the well, only Emma and Snow White came through," she mumbled and backed herself into one of the walls.

"There are other ways," Cora assured her and put a hand to the side of her face at which Regina flinched at. Cora frowned and brought her hand way, "Are you afraid of me?"

"Shouldn't I be?" Regina asked and kept a hesitant eye on her mother.

"No, you shouldn't," Cora brought the rose up between them and looked at Regina meaningfully, "I kept it."

"The rose…" Regina frowned in concentration. Then it dawned on her, "That was the rose I buried you with."

"Would have, if I was really dead," Cora corrected her and then took one of Regina's hands in hers, "I came here to help you. To help you win."

"Mother, I-"

"Because that is what you deserve."

Regina paused and took in her mother's words. She took the time to process them and Cora stood still to let her. She narrowed her eyes slightly, "You aren't angry that I tried to kill you?"

"If you call Hook's sad attempt at being an assassin a try," Cora scoffed and shook her head, "I was at first, but then what you said when you were saying goodbye to me. I never knew that I meant that much to you."

"You are and will always be my mother," Regina said in a way that made it sound natural, "And as much as I may hate your actions, I will always love you."

"As I will always love you," Cora put a hand on her cheek again and this time Regina did not flinch, "Now, to take care of this Charming problem."


	8. Chapter 7: Advice

**Chapter Seven**: **Advice**

Hook never enjoyed waking up from a lost battle. It did nothing for his image and it was downright embarrassing if the rest of his crew was with him to see it. He grabbed at his head and knew that there was an extra bump where the hit landed, but other than that he seemed intact. That was not the way of the Dark One, at least not the one that he remembered. If the Dark One had his way he should be an empty body with a crushed heart. He pushed himself to a sitting position and cracked an eye open. He was behind bars, that much was sure, and he was without his hook… again.

"Looks like someone finally decided to join the land of the living," Emma said with a light voice as she entered the main station room from the connected hallway. She put down some papers on the far desk and then grabbed two cups to fill with water from a small container at the side, "Just about time, too. I wanted to eventually eat at some point tonight."

"Tonight?" Hook moaned and looked up at the small window that was dark. He groaned and tried to pull himself up from the cot he was slung over.

"Yeah, Gold hit you pretty hard," Emma explained and handed him a cup of water through the slot in the bars which he looked at dubiously. Emma snorted out a soft laugh over her own cup of water and just continued, "I thought that you would be out for a few hours, I didn't think that it would have been close to eleven or twelve."

"And you haven't eaten in all that time?" Hook smirked and took a few sips of the water to find it more refreshing than he had thought. He raised a brow and tried to look suave, "Were you that worried about me?"

"Ruby- the other woman you kidnapped- brought by some food for me around noon time. Didn't leave anything for you though," Emma explained and pointed at him with a small smile of amusement, "You did not make a great impression on her. I would stay my distance for now. She has a bit of a bite to her."

"I surmised that by how she fought with me even while under duress," he threw back the rest of the cup and placed it on the small section of cut out bars.

"You have no idea," Emma whispered into her own cup.

"So, I take it I am now your prisoner," Hook leaned on the bars and looked up and down the strange looking room. He looked at what he assumed were exits and then the window that was much too small for any human to get through, much less him. He then focused his eyes on Emma and smiled with a predator gleam, "For you to do with as you please?"

"Don't try that on me, Hook. Your charm doesn't work on me," she pointed a finger at him and shook her head, "I want to know- just like all the others in my merry little band of who you would call 'do-gooders' – is what Cora is up to."

"You'll have to ask her," Hook leaned back from the bars with a regretful sigh, "All I know is that she came here for her daughter. A daughter that at one time wanted to kill her, but she didn't kill back when she had the chance. I bet that they are having a lovely reunion as we speak."

"I thought that Regina was scared of her mother. Hell knows that I would be."

"She has every right to be. That woman has more than one way of being a bit dangerous," Hook said as if it was an afterthought and rubbed the empty hole where his hook usually sat, "Speaking of reunions… Where is my hook?"

"In safe keeping," Emma said dryly and pulled out her cell phone. He watched her as she pressed a few buttons and pulled it up to her ear. She heard it ring a little and her father finally picked up, "Listen, Hook's awake. He told me that Cora went to find Regina. I don't want to think that she may go along with Cora, but I don't want to downplay it either… Are you sure you don't want me to go with you?... Yeah, I will be here… Keep me updated."

"What is that lovely little device?" Hook asked and nodded his head at the cell phone.

"A way of communication," Emma muttered and put the phone back in her pocket before he got too good of a look at it, "Quite advanced for the likes of you."

"You wound me and my intelligence. I am much cleverer than you may give me credit for; and I am a very fast learner," he muttered back and sat on the cot in his cell, "You could always give me a lesson."

"I am not giving you any advantages."

"So untrusting."

"I wonder why," she replied dryly.

He smirked and chuckled as he leaned his head against the wall behind his head, "So are we to face off against one another on either side of these bars, then?"

"It depends."

"On what?" he asked in hope that a deal could be made.

"On what side you want to play on."

"Well, if you have an accord planned…" Hook leaned back toward the bars, "I would love to hear it."

* * *

David approached the ex-mayor's home and looked back at Mary Margaret who nodded at him and held a short sword at her side. They faced her before and won for a time, they could do it again; as Archie and Henry seemed to echo time and again that good always wins. Neither of them liked the prospect of Cora, but if Regina and her were now working together, they would much rather be prepared.

"Regina?" David asked and knocked on the heavy wood door.

Regina opened the door almost immediately and looked at the husband and wife as if they were ready to go to war. Although one of the only reason for the looks on their faces was if there was a threat against their family, which included their grandson, "Is Henry okay?"

"Yes, we were wondering if you were," Mary Margaret said carefully and tried to take a few looks over the other woman's shoulder. From what she could tell the inside of the home looked like it always did; clean, neat and everything in its place.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Regina asked in genuine confusion.

Both of the Charmings seemed to relax at her confusion. David took a deep breath, "Your mother made it to Storybrooke."

"What?" Regina's eyes widened, "When? How?"

"She used the magic bean in the restorative waters," Mary Margaret explained, "We wanted to make sure that she hadn't tried to…well, kill you."

"I appreciate the concern," Regina said in a dead tone, "But I have not seen my mother. If she is here, I will definitely have to keep my guard up. What has Gold said about it?"

"That we should all be weary and wait for a surge of magic for her first strike."

Regina nodded and a thought seemed to occur to her, "And Henry! Where is he?"

"In good hands," David nodded and put a hand out to stop her from getting too wound up.

"How do you know she's here?"

"Her friend Hook tried to take Belle this morning."

"I wouldn't exactly call Hook her friend, or even an ally. From what I have gathered from my last meeting with the pirate, he chose the side that best benefited him. I bet the failed ransom attempt just set well with Gold this morning," Regina smirked and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Hook's still alive, if that's what you were hinting at, but how long depends on what he can give us and how long we can stop Rumplestiltskin from taking out his heart."

"Good luck on that," Regina stepped back to go back inside her house.

"Regina," Mary Margaret put a hand on the door. The action made Regina look up at her, "You can stay closer to us to stay safe… if you would like. We don't know what Cora is after and until then; we can bring our forces together. Keep each other safe."

Regina narrowed her eyes at the woman and then shook her head, "I'll be fine. I know enough about her to stay that way. Just… take care of Henry."

"Okay," Mary Margaret nodded and stepped back toward David, "We are only a call away."

"Why do you care of my welfare?" Regina suddenly asked before they stepped off her stoop, "I _cursed_ you."

"And now we are all in the same position… and you took care of my family when I wasn't here. I know it was for Henry's sake, but you helped my husband find me. You made sure that my daughter and I could come back safely. I owe you for that. I can almost say we're even… almost."

Regina stood shocked in her doorway and nodded in understanding, "You're right. It was for Henry's sake."

Mary Margaret nodded and turned with her husband to the street. They had to have a talk with Emma about the pirate and then plan their next steps to defend themselves.

"You are a fantastic actress," Cora said as soon as she closed the door and watched the Charmings leave around the last hedge.

"How do you think I learned to keep Daniel and I a secret?" Regina said coldly and turned to her mother, "What do we do now?"

"We start with a plan and wait… the wait is what will unnerve them," Cora smiled proudly, "It's always the wait that kills them."

* * *

Archie Hopper sat at the bar in his back booth and nursed a small glass of scotch. He sat in silence as most of the other patrons laughed and conversed around him. As usual, he sat and watched the rest of the world pass him by. Even when everyone was frozen in the same day in and out, he would sit back and watch and listen and give advice that never really helped. He wondered if he had made a difference to anyone while he was just Archie Hopper in cursed Storybrooke, or if he was just subpar. Just like he felt. He looked at the small glass in his hand and watched the scotch swirl around the ice.

"Now, if you are not the picture perfect example of a man with the world heavy on his shoulders, I don't know who is."

Archie picked his eyes and head up to see none other than the pirate they had captured earlier slip into the booth, now facing him. He folded his hand over the still empty stump that had held his hook. At least now Archie knew that the captain wasn't completely off of some kind of leash. Ruby had told him earlier that Emma was perched at the man's side as an escort of some kind until they could make sure that he wasn't going to double cross them. Of which Archie was sure that they would never get to that point. He felt horrible and sorry for Emma.

"You don't trust me," Hook said simply after a long silence.

"You took two of my friends hostage today and threatened to kill them if Rumplestiltskin didn't duel you," Archie said simply and took a sip of his scotch, "So, no, you are not my favorite person."

"I am thinking that you were part of that small party that came on my boat to find them then," Hook pointed at his face.

"Isn't Sheriff Swan supposed to be with you at all times?" Archie asked in a tone that warned the pirate not to go too far. His eyes scanned the groups around them in hope to find the blonde head come toward their booth. No such luck as of now. The least he could do is to keep the man in the booth until Emma could catch up to him.

"She'll be along shortly, I am sure," Hook relaxed back into the booth and looked around the room as well as if to size up the small bar, "Until then… which one?"

"Which one, what?" Archie asked and sipped again.

"Which woman did you come to save off my ship?" Hook smirked and looked at the glass in Archie's hand, "And the woman that had pushed you to drink the amber poison?"

"This has nothing to do with a woman," Archie immediately flinched as the thought of Ruby and what to do next was the real reason he decided to take a detour on the way home and check the bar. He could never lie… at least not well.

"Ah, denial! A fine friend to have," Hook chuckled warmly and caught the attention of a bar employee, "May I have some of your best rum?"

The employee nodded and walked back to the bar.

"How do you know I am denying anything?" Archie asked.

"Because I can read it all over you, mate," Hook gestured at him with his hand and nodded in thanks when the glass of rum was sat down in front of him. He took a swig and sighed in contentment, "Nothing beats rum. The burn is exactly what I needed."

"You don't know anything about me," Archie noted.

"I know the look of heartbreak, or maybe longing. They could be very similar in appearance," Hook motioned with a wave of his hand, "With your current stature, I am guessing that the lady is a bit from your reach, but not totally unattainable. So I would say that it was not the old crocodile's catch… You are enraptured by the dark haired beauty that was with her, aren't you?"

"I would advise not to talk too much on Ruby," Archie warned, even though he wouldn't resort to violence. At least not at this point. When it came to Ruby he didn't think that there was anything he wouldn't do for her or her honor.

"Ruby, yes that's the one," Hook slapped the top of the table and then pointed at him, "A very beautiful woman and headstrong too. A spitfire with a great pair of legs."

Archie frowned at the last portion and tried to hold back his tongue. The captain may be without a hook, but he must have some kind of plan if he had lived this long having Rumplestiltskin as an enemy.

Hook didn't seem to notice, "So how long?"

"How long what?"

"Have you been pining after her?"

"This is not a topic I will discuss. Especially not with you."

"And why not? You aren't going to talk to anyone else about it! Especially not her by the looks of it."

"She's not something to be talked about. She's a person and a really great one at that. She's beautiful and charming, intelligent and funny… Not something to be slobbered over or traded in conversation. She deserves better than that and I will not degrade her. I refuse."

"Oh… you are in deep, mate," Hook chuckled and picked up his glass of rum toward him in mock cheers, "Good luck with that."

"And what would you do?" Archie asked at the man with his mouth behind the glass's rim. Hook's eyebrows rose in attention and shot a look over at the psychiatrist, "You didn't make an impression on her that I would care to repeat. According to her, she would have bit your head off if she had the chance. I wouldn't have stopped her with the way you treated her and Belle."

"Have you told her?"

"Told her what?"

"That you want her?"

"I-" Archie sat straighter, "I don't just want her! I lo-"

He stopped himself and Hook's brows rose in a little bit of shock at the mild mannered looking man. Archie took a breath and shook his head before he continued, "I care deeply for her, more than any friend should. She sees me as a friend; nothing more."

"Are you sure?" Hook asked with a tilt of the head and leaned in with a whisper, "Sometimes these things have a way of being two sided."

"And just how would you go along in wooing a woman like her?"

"Find out how she wants to be wooed," Hook said as if it was an easy feat and leaned back with a brush of his arms, "Ask her."

Archie paused and looked up at the pirate across from him, "Why are you giving me dating advice? We captured you."

"The old crocodile and Swan captured me," he corrected and shrugged with another gulp of his rum, "Let's just say I am a fan of people finding one another."

"There you are!" Emma roared and pulled Hook up by his collar and out of the booth, "You slimy bastard! I have been looking up and down this whole block for you. That was the last time that I look away from you even for a second!"

"Hello, love," Hook greeted and Emma hit him over the back of the head in annoyance.

Emma looked at the other occupant in the booth and nodded apologetically at Archie, "Thank you for distracting him for me, Archie. I'll be sure to make it up to you."

"Don't think anything of it, Emma," Archie shook his head and then looked at Hook, "The discussion was enlightening."

"I bet. His mind must be a piece of work," Emma huffed and pushed at Hook, "Come on, let's get you tucked in so I can get some sleep."

"Are you propositioning me, Swan?" he asked with a raised brow, "Because I would not fight it for one minute. I am actually quite inclined to the idea."

"In your dreams. David will be watching you tonight," she said as she shoved him out of the bar.

Archie turned from them and looked back down into his scotch.

_Find out how she wants to be wooed…_

"Much easier said than done," Archie took the last sip of his scotch and left money for his and Hook's drinks on the table before he left. Tomorrow was another day.


	9. Chapter 8: Arrangments

**Chapter Eight****: Arrangements**

The next afternoon, a group began to gather at the bed and breakfast to go over notes and decide the fate of one pirate. Granny decided to give Tiana a go at running the diner that morning and hoped that she, with the help of her slightly off- but well meaning- boyfriend wouldn't burn the place down. It was only a few hours, with any luck, and then she and Ruby would be able to take over for the poor girl. It was a good trial run to see whether she would be able to run her own place.

Ruby added more chairs to the large table as more and more people began to come in. David and Mary Margaret were already there and at the head of the table talking things over with one another. Hook was placed in a chair a little ways from the table with Emma at the edge, keeping a close eye on the man. Henry had joined them, just because no one dared to let him out on his own with Cora loose on the town. Grumpy had shown up with Doc and sat to chat with Mary Margaret. Marco and Archie showed up nearly right after the two royal guards with Pongo on leash. Archie flashed a smile at Ruby before he sat down next to her chair and Marco sat on his other side. Henry had taken Pongo from Archie and began to play with the dog in the next room.

Toward the start time, Belle had shown up and dragged Gold in after her. There was a tense moment when Gold's and Hook's eyes met. Belle put a hand over Gold's chest and ushered him to the opposite side of the table. Emma shot more than a warning glance over Hook who seemed to stay immobile, except his eyes which followed the dark magician.

"Well, is that everyone?" David asked and looked over the table.

"Looks like it," Granny sighed and sat down on the other side of Ruby, "So, back to the war table, I suppose."

"As long as there are those that are going to bring war into the picture," Mary Margaret put in and then took a breath, "Okay, first thing. Emma?"

"What are we doing with him?" Emma asked and pointed to the pirate over her shoulder.

"I am right here," Hook said with a frown.

"In much less shackles than you should be in thanks to the generosity of Miss Swan," Gold growled and narrowed his eyes at the pirate. He then turned his eyes to the Charmings, "As he isn't adding any more information than what we have, may I dispose of him?"

"Shows how you jump to conclusions," Hook said smoothly and shifted on the chair set apart from the table, "I can be of service in other ways. I have been at Cora's side for the last twenty-eight years that you have all been lost in this cursed town. I know how she works. How she can be defeated."

"And how are we to know that you won't go back to her side when it suits you?" Mary Margaret asked and looked at the captain in the eyes, "You have to understand, Hook. This table is filled by the people that I love. My family and my friends. I will not have you be a burden or a liability when it comes to their safety. That is a threat on their lives. If there is a chance that you will fall back in line with that woman, I will kill you myself."

"I'll take that threat to heart," Hook nodded and watched the raven hair woman closely. He knew how passionate she could get, especially when it concerned her family. He took a breath and brought his head up as if in higher spirits, "No threat here. The only one that I would dream of dispatching- and believe me, I have dreamt of it- is the old crocodile."

"You aren't the only one who has dreamt of that battle," Gold muttered and felt Belle's hand over his.

"I don't think you'd miss him, would you?" Hook asked and pointedly looked at Gold.

"Rumplestiltskin has made things a bit difficult during our time back home," David agreed and then paused as the old magician looked over at the prince, "… but if it weren't for him. Snow and I would never have met. I blame hardships on him, yes. But I also place fault on him for my finest blessings."

"He is a villain," Hook reminded the table.

"And so are you," Ruby cut in. She gained the table's looks, "You kidnapped two women, one of them for the fun of it, and then ransomed them so you could have a chance to kill one man. That is probably just the tip of the iceberg."

"I have done many sins in my time, yes," Hook nodded and leaned back in his chair, "But none to the affect of that monster."

"He is not a monster," Belle frowned and squeezed Gold's hand.

"I beg to differ," Hook growled and stood up as he got closer to the table, Emma mindful of his speed and intention, "Did he ever tell you how his wife died? Hm? The mother of his child- the one he drove away?"

"She knows everything," Gold growled and felt Belle slightly retreating from the man coming closer to the table. Not in fear, but to protect him as she was drifting her body in front of his. He touched her shoulder with his free hand and nodded toward her as if to reassure her. He looked back up at Hook, "There are no secrets between Belle and I. You can try to use my past, but you won't succeed."

"If she can still find it in her to love you, then she is just as much of a monster as you," Hook spat.

At that statement, Gold lunged up from his chair, hand aglow with magic and pushed the captain off his feet and against the high corner of the room, magic flowing around Hook's throat. The royals stood in attention of the act, but didn't rush to save the pirate.

Belle stood behind Gold, her brows furrowed in confusion. She knew that he was just reacting in his protectiveness of her and her honor, but she also knew that it was something that the dark part of him thrilled in, "Rumple, please…"

"Belle is the only thing that is possibly keeping you alive," Gold hissed at Hook, "If it wasn't for her influence, her love, your heart would have been mine long before now. Royals or not."

Gold felt Belle's hand on his shoulder and his head titled just slightly toward her touch. He took a deep breath and released Hook from the corner.

"I would watch what you say about her," Gold warned and walked back to his seat, "She just saved your worthless life."

Hook coughed a bit and rubbed at his throat, "Then I am in her debt, it would seem."

"Okay, I know there is hostility here," Archie brought up the obvious and then looked between Gold and Hook. His voice took on a deeper and more commanding tone as if he was talking to children, "If we are to defeat Cora and get ourselves back home, we need to work together. This fighting will solve nothing."

"Archie's right," Emma nodded and pulled Hook back into his chair, "You want to have a bit of freedom and do the right thing for once?"

"Freedom would be nice," Hook nodded.

"Then we need an oath that you can't break. One that will say that you will leave Gold and Belle alone and that you won't become a traitor and hand us over to Cora. If you play on our side, you are staying on our side."

"I can't promise anything when it comes to him," Hook flicked his eyes to Gold who still had a steely gaze on him, "You have to understand, my whole purpose in coming to Storybrooke was to hunt and destroy that monster."

"I wouldn't mind that fight seen through," Gold added.

"Then you will have to push the fight back," Emma looked between the two men, "Let's get Cora out of our hair and then you two can battle each other into oblivion once we get back home for all I care. Until then, do you think you two could at least not try to kill one another?"

"Will I have to work with him?" Hook asked.

"On occasion, but I will continue to be your escort, so it won't be alone."

"And I will get more leeway?"

"To a point."

Hook nodded at the idea and Emma looked over at Gold, "You? Think you can hold off on your part of the death match until Cora's out of here?"

Belle held his hand and he nodded, "If he would leave us alone, I wouldn't care what he did with his life. It's very simple, keep away from me, and I won't kill you."

"Sounds kosher," Emma turned back to Hook.

"An accord has been struck," Hook held out his hand toward Emma and as she was about to shake it, Gold stood again.

"Wait," Gold walked toward the two of them and held out a hand that was glowing dimmer than it had when he had Hook on the ceiling, "I want to make sure that he can't back out of this."

"And how do you expect to do that?" Hook asked with a snarl.

"With a blood oath," Gold said simply and brought over a sewing needle, "You agree and drop a bit of blood. You go to Cora in any attempt of becoming a traitor or to cause harm to Belle or I, you will fall dead. I will also agree not to cause you any harm during this reprieve."

"That sounds binding," Emma nodded and turned to her parents who were looking on with proud looks on their faces. Emma was well on her way to help in territory and kingdom disputes whenever they got back home and started to rebuild. They both nodded in agreement and Emma nodded to Gold, "Do it."

Ruby brought over some parchment that Granny had in the china cabinet and placed it between Gold and Hook. Gold looked at Belle who grudgingly nodded. She still didn't like the idea of magic, but if it kept her and Gold safe, she would have to allow it. Gold waved his hand over the parchment and letters and words began to flow over the paper. Hook leaned over and read the words on the page carefully. It was exactly as was agreed upon. The imp left no loopholes.

"Satisfied with the agreement?" Gold asked and held up the sewing needle.

"Seems so," Hook took off his glove with his teeth and held out his hand.

Gold pricked his finger and a single drop of blood fell to the parchment. Gold did the same and watched as the two drops soaked into the paper and the words glowed and then disappeared. Everyone watched the actions and after it was done, Gold rolled up the parchment and handed it to Belle.

"I think that it can be a piece of public record," he mentioned and she nodded, "It's indestructible until Cora is finally gone. In whatever capacity that we can dispose of her."

Hook sat back into his chair and Emma settled back in next to her parents.

"Well…" Mary Margaret huffed and patted down her skirt as if it was a court dress, "That settles one line of business. The next… Cora and Regina."

* * *

After the two hour long war meeting everyone adjourned to the diner to get lunch and then go on their daily routine. They needed to keep the town calm and not to panic anyone so far as if to push them over the town border. Archie was at his booth, Pongo off playing outside with Henry, who was hesitant to let go of the dog's leash.

"Henry is really having a ball with Pongo," Ruby said as she slid into the opposite seat from him.

"Let him have his fun. He's doing me a favor," Archie smiled as they both looked out the window to see Pongo bound after the boy, "It will tire Pongo out and I won't have to worry about him while I fix up the rest of the office."

"Is it almost done?"

"Just a few more fixes to the walls and I will be taking in my patients again," he nodded with a proud smile.

"That's good," she smiled wide, "This town needs a conscience. Especially with pirates dashing about."

"Don't worry about Hook," Archie turned toward the man who was telling some kind of high seas tales to some of the women who made their way into the diner, "If he tries anything, he dies. I don't think he wants that any time soon."

"Doubtful," Ruby muttered.

Archie watched as she drug her eyes from the pirate and looked up at him in question. He had his thinking face on and looking over her face so thoroughly.

"Something up?"

"Yeah," he rubbed the back of his neck and coughed a little to clear his throat, "I… I, um…"

"What's wrong?" Ruby reached across and put a hand over the one still on the table.

"I need your advice."

"Oh, role reversal!" Ruby shot up in excitement, "I like where this is going. Shoot."

"Okay," he chuckled at her over eagerness and looked down at their two hands, "I want to know… how do I, um… ask a woman to be more than just a friend?"

Ruby's smile instantly fell. Her heart seemed to drop to a bottomless pit she didn't even know existed. Her heart now seemed like a figment of her imagination, the numbness hurt more than she thought it would. Her breath caught and she was instantly glad that she was already sitting. Her face pulled a fake smile back on so that she wouldn't disappoint her friend.

"I've been thinking on it for a while, but I can't really bring up the courage to do anything meaningful. How do I approach it?" he asked and finally looked up at her.

"H-how does she act around you?" Ruby took her turn to look down at the table and took her hand away from his. It suddenly felt like she was encroaching on someone else's territory.

"Well, she enjoys the time we spend together, I am pretty sure. She's friendly, intelligent and gorgeous. She has the best sense of humor and couldn't be a better person if she tried," he explained and looked at her to try and get her to look up at him so he could connect, hopefully let her know what he meant without him spilling everything, "She's never been in a serious relationship before, except once. If she is willing to try, it may be the best thing to ever happen to me."

"You really like her," Ruby said in a near whisper and cleared her throat as she felt like something from an earlier breakfast was going to come up, "Have either of you said anything about a relationship? Or has she said she was interested in a relationship?"

"She- well, we have talked about relationships, but not our own all that much," he chuckled nervously, "She's really independent and I think that if I try to integrate her into a co-dependent relationship too fast, she will reject it."

Ruby took a breath and as she felt the last of her chest fall into the empty space he had once filled, she gave him her best advice, "I think that you should make it clear. A leap of faith. If she's ready, she'll say so. Sounds like she will tell you if she needs time or if she wants to take things slow."

"She definitely speaks her mind," he nodded with a slight chuckle, "I just hope she doesn't reject the idea."

Ruby gripped his hand again and looked back to his face when she knew for sure she wasn't crying, "I hope she sees what a great catch you are."

Archie seemed a little taken back by her expression and her statement and took a breath to say something.

"Ruby!" Granny yelled from the kitchen, "Can you help me for a minute?"

"Be right there," Ruby called back and looked at her best friend, "I will be back with our lunches and we can talk about this lucky girl, huh?"

"If you would like," Archie nodded and she gave him a sad smile and walked quickly into the back.

Once in the back she helped Granny immediately with some plates and then leaned against the back wall. Granny noticed the change in her behavior from earlier that morning to now and took a moment after the last plate to look over her granddaughter.

"Ruby?" Granny asked hesitantly as she moved toward her.

"I'm fine," she said quickly and walked into another back room where she closed the door.

"I doubt it," Granny whispered to herself and looked out in the dining area where Archie looked confused down at his cup of water.

Ruby hugged herself as she sat against the door, just on the off chance that Granny would try to walk through. She didn't want to talk to her about it. She barely knew how to talk to herself about it. She shouldn't feel hurt; she shouldn't feel as much pain as she did. He wasn't hers, he was her best friend. Best friends are happy for one another when they find love. Why couldn't she be happy for him? Why was the only thing she felt was the cold, empty void that was so full of hope and joy when she first sat down with him?

She jumped a little as the phone in her pocket vibrated and she pulled it out. She read the light up screen and saw that it was a message from Belle. She had noticed that Belle and Gold had left right after the war briefing as Gold wanted nothing more to do with the pirate. She was getting better at the phone. She was having problems with just phone calls last week. She moved on to text was a great feat for her. Ruby opened the message and tilted her head in surprise.

"Blind date?" she read and messaged Belle back, "I think I know most, if not all the guys in Storybrooke. It wouldn't be blind."

A moment later another message shot back, "You'll regret it."

Ruby thought for a moment and then thought about the man sitting in the dining room waiting for his friend to get back. Not his interested party, not his possible lover… his good friend Ruby who gives him advice on how to woo another woman. Ruby took a deep breath; time to lick her wounds and get back on the horse.

She typed in a yes response and got the information on the date that would take place the following night. Ruby suddenly felt cold and like she had just done something horribly wrong against Archie. It was okay though. He was going to tell that lucky girl about how he felt and Ruby… she could go on with her life being his best friend and date guys that would never measure up.

She got off the floor, made sure that her makeup wasn't running and went out to get her and Archie's orders. She grabbed the two plates and slid into her normal seat. He looked up to her face and frowned.

"Are you okay, Ruby?" his brow furrowed instantly.

"I'm okay," she supplied and nodded, "The onions are really going super charged on me since I got my sniffer back into wolf mode. You should have seen me on Monday. That was a mess."

"I see," he nodded and then took another breath, "So I was thinking about asking her to dinner tomorrow night."

"That's a good start," Ruby nodded and felt the numbness in her chest push at her, "Maybe we could double date."

"That would be fu- Double date?" Archie's spine straightened.

"Yeah, Belle sent me a message on my phone. She set up a blind date," Ruby shrugged and looked down at her plate, not even hungry, "She has a good judge of character…except for one. So I thought, why not?"

"Oh," Archie said softly and fell back into the booth seat, "Well, I wish you luck."

"I just don't know who it could be. I know most of the single guys in this town. You know that."

"Don't start down that track, Red," he warned and her eyes shot to his who looked determined, "You aren't just Ruby. I never thought of you like that."

"I know," she nodded, "You're the one decent guy who didn't."

At that they began to force themselves to eat and put brave smiles on their faces. Inside both of their hearts stopped and for a moment screamed out for the other.


	10. Chapter 9: Date Night

**Chapter Nine****: Date Night**

"Of all the places that I could have left it…" Ruby grumbled to herself as she walked along the sidewalk and finally came face to face with Archie's front door. She shuffled her feet a little bit and wasn't sure if she was really there for the jacket that she had left or to check if he was home and not out with that other woman. She felt a growl of jealousy rise in her throat, but she pushed it down before it was released, "Really, Ruby. Just get yourself together."

Ruby took a deep breath and knocked on Archie's door. After a few moments of shuffling feet from the inside, Archie answered the door with a surprised and happy look on his face.

"Red," he smiled and opened the door out to the side. He took in her whole look under the dim lights of the front porch. She wore a knee length red dress with one wrap around sleeve over her left shoulder. It looked Grecian and had the draping affect that worked well with her slight curves. She wore a silver necklace that he knew she favored with silver dangle earrings. She clutched her black clutch and wore some short black heels. She was a vision in red and black, and Archie was jealous of the lucky schmuck that got to see her tonight.

"Hey Jiminy," she smiled back at him and distracted him from his look over. He shook his head and motioned for her to come inside his home. She stepped over the threshold and he closed the door behind her. She noticed that there was no Pongo, but that wasn't usual if the loveable pooch was asleep somewhere else in the apartment.

"You look beautiful," he couldn't stop himself from saying even if he wanted to.

"Thank you," she pulled a little at her dress and then flattened her hand against it to smooth it out, "I didn't know if it would look better on me and off the hanger. They always seem to look better on the hanger."

"You could make anything look amazing," he said as if it was a well known fact. He melted at the smile that she gave him then and a sudden thought ran through his head. The dreadful realization washed back over him and punched him right in the gut, "You should be heading for your date, shouldn't you?"

"Yeah," she picked up and ran a hand through her loose curls that fell over her shoulders, "I was wondering if you have seen my black jacket. You know, the shorter one. I think I might have left it over here during our monster-fest last week."

"Oh! Right, yeah," Archie turned quickly and found the jacket that he had laid off to the side himself just the other night while he was picking up. He grabbed it and handed it back to Ruby.

"Thanks," she fumbled with the material and looked around the room for a moment, "You didn't get that dinner you wanted?"

"Plans fell through," he nodded and rocked a little on his feet.

"I don't need to go after her or anything, do I?" she flashed her teeth up at him and he shook his head, "Make sure she knows not to miss around with you?"

"No, she just had other plans," he chuckled sadly, "She usually does. I should have asked her sooner."

Ruby frowned as she shrugged on the jacket, but didn't make any movements to leave. She looked up at him with the most confused face and took a deep breath as if to cleanse herself.

"What's wrong, Red?" he asked and leaned against the back of his couch.

"I don't think I'm good enough," she said in an exasperated tone.

"What are you talking about?" he said immediately and reached out his hands to cup her elbows and bring her closer towards him, "You think you're not good enough for him?"

"He's better than I could ever hope to be," she whispered and looked away from him. She knew she wasn't talking about the blind date, how could she? She didn't know who the guy was. No, she was talking about the only man that mattered to her. The same one who stood in front of her now.

"You finally figured it out," he smiled sadly and her breath caught for a moment before he continued, thinking that he may just have figured her out, "Who you're blind date is. You found out, right?"

Ruby didn't answer and only shook her head and let out the breath that she had held, "I just… I can't see it. I don't know how you do when there is nothing there to see."

"Hey, hey, hey," he frowned as he pulled at her elbows and she pulled her face up to look him in the eyes, "You need to watch what you're saying. You're talking about my best friend."

She laughed a little, but nearly choked on tears, "Jiminy…"

"Listen to me," he moved his hands to cup her face and made sure that she was looking at him before he continued, "You are an amazing, one of a kind woman who any man would be- and _should_ be- honored to have join him, if only for a few hours. You're intelligent, clever, strong, courageous and passionate … And let's not forget beautiful…"

His hands fell from her face and landed on her shoulders. Her eyes stayed on his as he took a hesitant pause and then continued again.

"Don't you let anyone ever make you feel like you aren't worth it. Red, you are worth everything. Anyone who says or treats you differently are wrong and don't know what a blessing is."

Ruby took a deep breath and smiled widely up at him, "You mean every word of that, don't you?"

"Of course I do," he looked at her as if she should know it too. He took another breath to tell her to get to her date, "So, if this guy-"

Before he could finish Ruby grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him down toward her. Her lips connected to his and she closed her eyes. She stood on her toes to keep a connection at their lips and then leaned back after a moment. In surprise, she noticed that he followed her and one of his hands went into her hair and the other on her waist as he began to kiss her back. She was slightly surprised on how good of a kisser he was and moaned as he pulled her closer to him by the waist.

Apparently it was the wrong thing to do.

Archie immediately let go of her and pushed back the couch he was pinned against to get some distance. He breathed heavily and Ruby saw the splotches of lipstick she left on his lips and bit softly on her bottom lip. He gripped the back of the couch and she noticed that his knuckles almost turned white because of his grip.

"Wh- what are we doing?" he asked and tried to regain normal breathing.

"I was kissing you," she explained and took a hesitant step toward him, "… and you were kissing me back."

"Y-you have a date tonight," he began to stumble over his words; a big tip off to her that he was getting flustered. She absolutely loved it when he got flustered, "With someone else!"

"I can cancel," she immediately responded and took another step. Much to her disappointment he abandoned the couch and began to counter her steps around the living room, giving him some space. It reminded her of hunting when she was in wolf form. A game of prey and predator, and God forgive her, she loved it.

"No, y-you sh-shouldn't cancel," he pointed a finger at her and she stopped.

"Why not?" she asked and crossed her arms over her chest. Her lips shifted into her stubborn frown and her voice grew angry and frustrated, "Why shouldn't I? Why should I go and take a date with a complete stranger when I can stay here and explore this with a man who genuinely cares about me and not my backside?"

Archie hesitated and shook his head as he tried to find the right words.

"You meant every word, Jiminy," she said, still keeping her distance, "Do you know how many other men have? None. Why should I go to this date when-"

"You shouldn't have to settle!" he answered and put a hand to his forehead as if a headache took hold, "You deserve so much more… than a cricket."

"Jiminy…" she sighed and tried to step toward him, "You aren't _just_ a cricket. You never were. You are a passionate man, an honest and good man. Something that I think you need to be reminded of. Being with you wouldn't be something that I would settle for. It's something that I would wish for."

"I can't, Red," he shook his head and looked up at her with an emotion that she had never truly seen on him before. Sadness. Pure and true sadness and heartbreak, "…I can't."

Ruby stepped back from the look and something vaguely clicked in her mind. The other woman… the woman that he liked. She just took a leap without looking and landed right, square in the middle between Archie and this woman he was trying to date. She put a hand to her lips and gasped a little in recognition.

"I am so sorry," she whispered and he looked at her confused.

"What?"

"I just…" she closed her eyes and shook her head at her own stupidity, "I just shoved myself between you and the woman you were telling me about."

"Red-" he started and took a step toward her, but she was the one to step away this time.

"I am so sorry. I should go," she shook her head again and walked to the door. She opened it quickly and walked down the street without a single look back.

"Red, wait!" Archie yelled when she opened the door and quickly rushed forward and gripped the doorframe as he looked down the street to catch her, "Red!"

He knew that she heard him, no matter how far away she had walked. She had always heard him even when others refused to. He hit the doorframe with the palm of his hand and walked back inside his apartment with a slam of the door. He walked to the other room where he had a private office and took a bottle of scotch from one of the bottom drawers. Pongo picked up his head and yawned as he woke up from a nap on the far couch. He whined as his master poured some of the amber liquid into a glass. He only did that when there was something very wrong.

"You weren't there, boy," Archie sulked and picked up the glass. He stared long and hard into the liquid and frowned. He sighed and thought of his behavior, "I made a complete fool of myself."

She gave him a choice, a chance to explore what he had always dreamed of. Her smiling face came to mind and the fragrance of her hair still seemed to float around his head. The feel and taste of her lips still planted in his memory, fresh and so real. He touched his own to find her lipstick still there. He wiped off the makeup and looked at it smeared on the handkerchief he now held. Her laugh and soft voice echoed in his ears… She had given him the biggest green light he could ever contemplate and he refused it and let it pass him by.

He put the glass down, "What did I do?"

He looked up at Pongo who huffed and small bark at him and he nodded. He reached for his jacket, swung it on and picked up his umbrella by the door before he walked out to find her.

* * *

Ruby made it to the front of the bar and brought out a small compact that was shoved in her clutch purse. She checked her mascara, happy to see that it wasn't running. She also went to fix her lipstick, but stopped after the first swipe. After a minute, she wiped the lipstick completely off, her mind still stuck on the picture of Archie with it over his lips.

She took a deep breath and tried to shake the feeling off, "Worry about broken friendships later."

Her heart suddenly hurt and she tried to brush it off. Archie was a great guy and she was sure that he would eventually forgive her. She really hoped, at least.

She opened the front door of the bar and sat at the counter. She saw her old friend Kelsey serving drinks and came over to her with a towel over one shoulder like a pro, "Well, I haven't seen you in here in a while. How have you been?"

"Been better, been worse. Been busy mostly with the diner and the bed and breakfast," she shrugged and took a look down the bar, "Anyone ask for me?"

"No, but a few guys have come in and looked at the bar as if expecting something," Kelsey tilted her head, "Do you need something strong?"

"I think I will stick with water for now, until I know what I am up against."

"Good choice," Kelsey smiled sadly knowing Ruby's moods. This one that she wore now did not speak well of things to come. She filled a tall glass with water and put it in front of her friend, "Tell me if you need an ear, huh?"

"Will do," Ruby nodded and Kelsey walked off to help other customers.

"Wise choice to go with the water and not the wine," a voice said from behind her and she rolled her eyes in aggravation. She looked over her shoulder to see Hook with a tall glass of rum in his own hand. He sat down next to her and smiled, "Never know what kind of scoundrels you may cross paths with."

"I don't need you around me," Ruby sneered and hopped down from the chair to walk away, "I have a blind date tonight, and I know that he would walk away if he saw you. Even if it was just from your smell- what _are_ you wearing?"

"Like it?" Hook motioned to his shirt, "It's a little something you get used to on the open sea."

"Yeah, well, us land lovers like to stick to normal smells," Ruby plugged up her nose and began to walk to another table, "I am waiting for someone, so please leave me alone."

"Yes, about that," he held up a phone and put it on the table, "That would be me."

"You?!" Ruby frowned and slammed her hands on the table in front of her, "Belle would never- No, not Belle. How did you learn how to text?"

"Observation mostly," Hook shrugged and twirled the phone that she now recognized as Belle's.

"You took her phone when we were your captives."

"Very clever one, you are," he pointed to her and smiled, "A little too clever for me to just ask to become acquainted with. You would shove me off. Much like what you are trying to do now."

"I wonder why," Ruby got up to give the glass back to Kelsey and leave, "Even coming here was a mistake. I got to go back and fix it."

"Look," Hook grabbed her arm and turned her toward him, "I am asking nicely."

"And I am turning you down," she answered and threw her water in his face, "It's an option I choose to use."

"You shouldn't have done that," he chuckled darkly and knocked the glass from her hand. It hit the floor with a crash and he pushed her against the wall behind her. He brought his Hook up to the open part of her neck to trace her pulse, "I risked getting on Emma's bad side to come here tonight. And I want retribution. I will get a chance, even if it means kidnapping you again."

"You are going to be very disappointed. Let go of me," Ruby snarled and bared her teeth up at him.

"Do not test me," he gripped her arm tighter and she cried out in a little pain.

"Excuse me," a voice spoke up from behind him- a do gooder who wanted to ruin his fun.

"What do you want?" Hook turned to talk the Samaritan out of a lecture and was met with a fist. The hit landed with a satisfied crunch. Hook stumbled and fell to the ground, effectively letting go of Ruby's arm.

"I believe that the lady asked for you to let go," an enraged Archie Hopper looked down at the fallen captain. He shook his fist from the hit and gritted his teeth from the pain. He hissed and then looked up at Ruby, "Are you okay?"

Ruby watched, quite shocked. She knew that Archie would defend what he thought was right and just, but she never imagined that he would act like the alpha male that now stood before her. She had to admit, it was a big turn on. She quickly remembered that he asked her a question and she nodded her head. She stepped over the captain and looked at his hand. It was bleeding a little from one of his knuckles and already looked a little swollen.

"Looks like one of his teeth caught your hand," she touched it and he hissed loudly, "And you may have sprained it."

"This is what I get for not taking David up on those fighting lessons," Archie mumbled.

"Let's get you patched up," Ruby smiled softly.

"Who's going to clean up the scum?" Kelsey asked and pointed down at Hook.

"Call Sheriff Swan," Archie mentioned, "She is his contact."

"I bet she'll love this," Kelsey grumbled and picked up the phone. She looked at the two of them and shooed them toward the door with a wave of her hand, "I'll give her your number if she has any questions, but I'm pretty sure that my cameras will speak for themselves. Go get your hand taken care of."


	11. Chapter 10: Aftermath

**Chapter Ten****: Aftermath**

Ruby walked with Archie back to his apartment in silence, both unsure of what to do or say. He fumbled with his key, not used to the immobility of his dominant hand. Ruby took it instead and let them both into the apartment. This time Pongo was awake and bounded up to them in greeting.

"This seems familiar," Archie muttered and sat down once Ruby got him to the couch.

"I would hope that your living room would be," she said and put some food in Pongo's bowl in case he was hungry and patted the dog on the head, "There you go, boy."

"No, you bringing me home with some kind of injury after defending your honor and Pongo bounding in to meet us at the door," Archie explained. The dog was at his master's side and licked at the injured hand, which Archie moved away from him and patted his head with the other hand.

"Let's try not to make a routine out of it," she sighed and grabbed the icepack that still sat in his freezer. She made a quick walk down the hallway and with a quick scan in his bathroom she grabbed some first aide items and sat next to him on the couch. She held out a hand toward him and bent her fingers as if to wave him into action, "Let me see it."

He held his hand out and she quickly went to work. She disinfected the cut on his knuckle and then tried to apply the ice pack to them. He hissed again and she apologized. She watched the clock to make sure she didn't leave the ice pack on for too long.

"Thank you," she whispered as she kept her eyes on the icepack. She felt him shift in front of her.

"You don't need to thank me," he said calmly, "He shouldn't treat you- or anyone for that matter like that."

She smiled at the temper that laced his words. She never has really seen her friend angered as much as he was now. She was just glad that it was at the pirate captain and not herself. She took another breath and took the pack off before she began to wrap his hand up.

With a small voice she never had used before she whispered, "You came after me."

"I did," he agreed and watched her take care in wrapping his hand.

After she tied it off she looked up at him in the eyes and narrowed hers a little, "This is supposed to be the time you explain why."

"Oh, um," he coughed into his uninjured hand and swept his eyes from her to the table and then back again, "I… I wasn't done."

"Wasn't done?" she asked with a lift of her brow.

"Explaining earlier, before you ran out of here," he sighed and stood up as he began to pace his living room, "I think you misunderstood what I was saying earlier."

"Jiminy, you don't have to explain," she put up a hand to stop his pacing and his words, "I know you feel something for this woman, and I shouldn't have injected myself into that like I did. I am sorry for doing that, but it doesn't mean that I regret it either."

Archie looked at the woman on his couch and ran his good hand through his hair, "You can have any eligible bachelor in Storybrooke- easily. Why would you waste your time on someone like me?"

She smiled and stood up as she walked toward him, "Because you are the only man brave enough to be honest and genuine with me."

He looked her in the eyes and he could see the start of tears gather behind them.

"But that doesn't matter right now," she gave him a closed lip smile and put a hand on his shoulder, "You got a woman to woo. Now, if you are-"

"It's you," he said quickly. Ruby stopped all motion for a moment and then turned her face back to his. He slowly, cautiously put his good hand on her waist and pushed some of her hair from her face with his other. He smiled at her wonderment and whispered to her, "The woman that I talked to you about… is you. It was always you."

Ruby blinked a few times to take in the information, "Me?"

"I was too much of a coward to tell you face to face," he pulled back just a little to watch her eyes and lips, "So I tried in a roundabout way to find out how you would like to be asked. It backfired."

"Horribly and immensely," she nodded with a sad chuckle. She stepped closer to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. As she did so she noticed a red coloring begin to cover his cheeks and the tips of his ears, "Let me just say this. That despite how the evening started, you punching Hook in the face and defending my honor definitely made you an alpha male in my book."

"Alpha male?" he asked and tilted his head.

"It's a wolf thing. You were protecting me," she smiled in an almost wicked way. Suddenly she pushed him against the nearest wall and took a deep breath through her nose from over his pulse point. She felt his hand tighten over her waist and his injured hand floated over her head, unsure of where to be placed. She smirked and kissed his neck lightly only to gently blow over it, "It is a really big turn on."

"Oh God," Archie whispered as if he wasn't getting enough oxygen. He swallowed hard and looked down at Ruby who looked up at him with half lidded eyes. He felt his breath leave him again and ran his hand through her hair, "…Red."

"Don't you try to talk me out of it, Jiminy," she warned and pushed herself up his body to come to the same level that he was. They stood nose to nose and her hands moved to the back of his head and into his hair. She smirked again, "Wouldn't work anyway. My mind is already made up. I want something that means something. That's genuine and real. No more whispered lies and broken promises from insincere guys."

As their noses bumped one another and breath mingled he cursed all those men who didn't know what they had. He cursed how they had hurt her and made her those broken promises. He didn't know or understand how they could not keep one to her.

"I have felt so lost," she confessed in a hushed whisper, "I have always felt like something is missing. You are first person- the first thing- that has ever made me feel complete. You are my missing piece, Jiminy. What I want is you."

With that she pulled his head down to meet his lips with hers. She instantly felt him respond back to her action and she smiled against his lips. His newly wrapped hand gripped at her hair as his other hand fell lower and gripped the side of her hip, which he pulled toward him. Her hands moved from his hair to his shoulders and then to his back. She used the new hold to pull herself to him and felt heat blossom from where their bodies touched.

Her lips worked against his hungrily and suddenly she bit his bottom lip which made him gasp. She used the response to push her tongue into his mouth and invited his to play. He moaned in response and didn't disappoint her. In a quick move, Archie pushed from the wall and turned so she was the one pushed against it. She hummed in approval of the dominant gesture and began to trail her right leg up his side, and hooked it over his hip. He unconsciously pushed his hips forward and she raked a hand through his hair.

Archie leaned back from the kiss with a disapproving sound from Ruby. Both of them were panting for breath, lips swollen and hair mussed. Archie placed a soft kiss at the tip of her nose and rubbed his hand through her hair.

"What made you stop?" she asked breathy and pushed her head against his hand, loving the feel of it run through her hair.

"As much as I may want this…" he started and felt her push against him again. He took a deep breath and put his forehead against hers, "and I mean _really_ want this and you… I need to take it slow. So do you."

"We just started," she began to plead her case.

"Exactly," he interrupted her and unwrapped her arms from his neck and held her hands in both of his. He kissed both hands over their knuckles, still wrapped firmly in his and smiled lovingly down at her, "We've just started. I want to take it slow so that we will enjoy it. You know I am not all that experienced and I don't want to disappoint you or dissatisfy you."

"You've shown you're pretty proficient so far," she smiled at the red blush that returned. She kissed him quickly over their joined hands, unable to stay away for too long, "I can assure you that you won't disappoint or dissatisfy, but if you need to take a slow route, then I will travel it with you."

He smiled then and kissed her back with a deeper and more passionate kiss, "Thank you, Red."

"You're welcome," she pulled down her leg from his hip and tried to right herself a little more. She then smiled and hugged him around the chest as his hands comfortably rested on her hips, "Besides, this gives me more time to figure out just how I want to seduce you."

"Red!" he cried out and his hands tightened a little over her hips.

"What?" she asked innocently, "You're the town conscience. I think that I will have to work over time."

She flashed him a look to tell him that she was partly joking and she giggled a little bit. He began to laugh with her and gave her a quick kiss again. She took a deep breath and snuggled her head between his shoulder and neck to breath in his scent. His hands wrapped around her securely and he began to sway from side to side as if to a silent song. At least what Ruby thought was a silent song until she heard the crickets from outside.

"They're singing tonight," she said into his neck.

"Just for us," he replied back.

She yawned loudly and looked back at the clock, "You have worn me out. I am getting tired and it's only ten."

"It's late enough," he nodded, "Time to get you to bed."

"Excellent idea," she popped her head up and grabbed his hand. She looked over his shoulder to make sure the door was locked, turned off the lights in the living room and- always careful of Pongo- made her way to his bedroom with him in tow.

"Red?" he asked a little wary, "Didn't we just have this talk and come to a decision?"

"Yes, no sex right now," she said as they entered the room and she turned on the lamp next to the bed. She pushed him on to the bed and then jumped over him to land on the other side. She laid down on the other side from where he usually slept and looked up at him, "Doesn't mean that I can't cuddle, does it?"

"You said something about seduction," he said with a sigh, but still taking off his shoes and socks.

"I will leave that until I have more energy," she said with a small giggle. Pongo jumped up on the bed and laid between her and Archie, "Hello, good boy."

Pongo licked Ruby's face and nuzzled at her neck. She squealed a laugh at the cold nose.

"Hey, not this time," Archie shook his head at the dog, "Get off my girlfriend."

Pongo huffed and jumped off the bed and toward the kitchen where his dinner still sat uneaten.

"Girlfriend, huh?" Ruby raised a brow at him as he tugged off his shirt and left a white undershirt still on.

"Well, I haven't asked you to marry me yet, I think that it's still a bit early for that, don't you think?" Archie chuckled at her nervously.

She tugged off her jacket from over the dress and pulled his shirt out of his hands. She put his shirt on over the dress she was wearing and expertly pulled the dress off and left his shirt on without showing more skin than she needed to. She folded the dress and tossed it on top of his dresser. She turned back to him, "I still haven't heard you ask me yet."

He chuckled and remembered exactly who he was talking with. He kissed her lightly and pushed his wrapped hand through her hair, "Red, will you do me the honor of letting me court you?"

"It has been a while for you, hasn't it?" she chuckled a little at the elaborate way he asked.

"Red…" he said exasperated.

"Of course I will," she smiled and kissed him again. She leaned over him and turned off the lamp next to his bed, "Now go to sleep, hero. I need my boyfriend to wake me up bright and early tomorrow so I can make it to the diner and not give Granny another heart attack."

"Goodnight, Red," he sighed happily into the night air.

Suddenly he found a leg flung over both of his, an arm around his chest and a face against his neck, "Goodnight."

He smiled and pulled out his arm to wrap around her and give her a better pillow. She hummed in contentment and as he put his glasses to the side, he never felt happier.

* * *

"I really don't know how you get into trouble like this," Emma complained as she tossed Hook into the back of her car.

"What? I don't get to sit in the front?" he complained and held a bag of ice to his face.

"With the stunt you pulled tonight? No chance," Emma frowned and drove toward the station.

"Must I sleep in that cell once again?" Hook asked in a borderline whine of a voice.

"Yes, for two reasons," Emma explained as she drove, "One: Granny is the one that owns the only bed and breakfast and I know that she will not be happy to house a man that tried to forcefully put the moves on her only granddaughter tonight. And two: you disrupted the peace and I got to hold you at least over night."

"Come on, Swan, you know me better than that," he tried to congeal her.

"Hey, a sheriff has got to do what a sheriff's got to do," she shrugged and pulled up to the station not sorry in the slightest.

"You know that I never make an action unless I know the products that would result from such actions," Hook explained as she pulled him from the back seat.

"Meaning that you wanted to get soccer punched in the face by Doctor Hopper and get publicly humiliated?" Emma asked with an unbelieving tone.

"It got him the girl that he has been pining after, didn't it?" Hook asked as she pulled him along toward his cell.

"Archie and Ruby?" Emma asked and looked at him as if he were crazy.

"Look back at their… relationship and see if you can totally disprove it," Hook waved his hand as if the two people were in the room and unaware of being watched.

Emma paused for a moment and remembered how close they were becoming before the curse was broken and then on how close they were after they realized who they were before. Archie wanting to come and get her off the ship and then walking off with her after they found them was a bit out of character for the usual quiet and nonviolent man. Her eyes narrowed and looked at the way that Ruby was very partial to the shrink and how she spent most of her breaks with him whenever he was in the diner.

"So… you set them up is what you are trying to tell me?" she asked still a bit skeptical.

"Exactly," he nodded and let her usher him into the cell.

"And rough housing with Ruby?" she asked before she closed the cell door.

"I wasn't hurting her, I just needed to get someone's blood boiling," Hook smirked and shifted his shoulders to knock out some kinks that he had gained by sleeping on the floor of the bar.

"And how would you know that he would be there to witness it?"

"If someone you… well, I am assuming that he loves her, which I am pretty sure he does from the way he described her," he pointed a finger up to elaborate the point and started again, "If someone that you loved was set up on a –what did she call it- a blind date, and you didn't know this other individual; wouldn't you want to make sure that the person that you love is happy? Or at least safe?"

"I would respect their privacy," Emma commented dryly and closed the door on him.

"I doubt it," Hook chuckled and made himself comfortable on the cot, "I am just an old romantic, Swan. I did it so that he would act. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Yes, I can just see your bleeding heart now," Emma rolled her eyes and looked at the clock, "Get some sleep. You aren't going anywhere for the next eight hours at least."

"Stay and be my nightingale?" he asked hopefully.

"No, that would be me again," David came into the station with a yawn and looked at him, "Sorry to disappoint."

"Can't really be disappointed when I am being watched by royalty, can I?" Hook smiled in a friendly manner to David.

"What did he do this time?" David asked and looked to Emma.

"Disorderly conduct. Tried to man handle Ruby in a bar."

"Oh," David chuckled and shook his head, "She give him that soon to be shiner?"

"No, that was Archie," Emma lifted her eyebrows as David looked at her in surprise.

"Really?"

"Yup, the town conscience has a protective streak when it comes to friends," Emma nodded and grabbed her heavy jacket from the back of the chair.

"I knew that, I just never even saw him try to throw a punch," David shook his head.

"You do crazy things in the name of love," Hook said from his position now sprawled across the cot.

"What is he talking about?" David asked.

"He thinks that he has single handedly got Ruby and Archie to fall madly in love with one another," she play whispered.

"I did not make them fall in love," he pointed at the ceiling and then sat up to look at her, "I just made them realize it and act on it. They fell in love long before I got here and on their own. As most people do."

He looked directly at Emma who rolled her eyes and patted her father's shoulder, "I am going home to see Henry and… mom."

David chuckled a little at her hesitancy and nodded, "Have a good night, Emma."

"Goodnight, love," Hook called from his cell and then looked at David.

"How'd you do it?" David asked.

"Do what?"

"Get Archie to act," David said and sat back in a chair, "A group of us have been trying to do it for weeks."

"Ah, but I have a great suspicion that none of you had a villainous mind working in your favor, did you?"

"Not one of us, no," David shook his head and then sat forward to stare the pirate down, "Which reminds me. Until you get on better terms, you are to get no ideas about my daughter."

"I have nothing but the best and most honorable intentions toward Emma Swan," Hook said with a flourish of his hand and then laid back down, "I give you my word."

"Yeah," David scoffed and grabbed some files to read and update, "We will just see how binding that is."

* * *

**A/N**: I feel that this and the last chapter kind of go hand in hand and needed to be uploaded together. Also, be on the look out for a new fiction that will be coming soon. It is a redcricket AU, and I am pretty excited about it. Hope you enjoyed the double update and review soon!


	12. Chapter 11: Waking Up

**Chapter Eleven****: Waking Up**

Archie woke up with Ruby still wrapped around him. One of her legs hooked between both of his own and a hand resting over his heart as the other one was pressed between their two bodies. His arm held her close along her back and his wrapped hand rested over her arm. He heard a sniff at the side of his face and Pongo's nose was mere inches from his cheek. The dog's tail began to immediately wag and his tongue darted out to lick at Archie's face. He wiped the now wet cheek with a soft groan. He strained his neck to look at the clock and muttered before he put his face back into Ruby's hair. As much as he didn't want to get up early on a day off, he liked the idea of waking up with her in his arms. It was a small price to pay for the joy that he felt. He squeezed her a little with the arm that he had wrapped around her and kissed the top of her head.

"Red," he whispered into her hair and Pongo whined from his other side, gently pawing the side of the bed with one paw.

"Hm?" Ruby stirred slightly and then buried her face into his chest as if to fight away the early morning sunlight that had already entered the room.

"Time to get up," he said and began to try and extract himself from her.

"No, call in," Ruby mumbled and hugged him to her.

"I don't have to work today, furniture is not done until tomorrow," he reminded her and sat up, "You, on the other hand have a certain diner to open."

"Open!" she said and took in a breath to wake up, "The diner!"

He chuckled a little from her urgency and her bed head.

"I got to get home to change," she mumbled and gathered her dress that she shoved on and threw his shirt back at him.

"I will go with you," he said and grabbed some clean clothes. He didn't want to slow her down and he could take a shower later. They both hurried out the door, Ruby making a walking dash to the bed and breakfast while Archie and Pongo walked with her, keeping pace easily.

She burst through the doors and ran directly up the stairs and past a bewildered Granny. The older woman looked after the blur that was her granddaughter and then looked at the door where Archie held Pongo's leash on the front porch.

"I was wondering where she had gone last night," Granny folded her arms over her chest and waved at him, "Come on in. You know I don't mind the pup."

"Thank you, Granny," he nodded his head and pulled Pongo in after him and shut the front door. He came up to the woman a little nervously and rubbed the back of his head before he began to fumble with Pongo's leash. It was a nervous twitch he wished that he could hide, but even if he could, he was sure that Granny had enough of the wolf inside her to know when he was nervous.

"Something on your mind?" Granny asked as she watched his movements.

"I want to ask you something," he looked up the stairs and then back at the woman, "About Red."

"Okay," she nodded with a knowing smile, "I am thinking that something happened last night."

"Something," he nodded and cleared his throat, "I wanted to ask your permission to court her- to date her."

Granny's smile tripled in brilliance and she jumped and grabbed the man around both of his arms, pinning them to his sides. She chuckled and finally let go to grab a hold of each side of his face. She laughed out loud at his bewildered and somewhat scared look, "Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting for you to ask me that?"

"I am assuming a while," he said from between squished cheeks.

"You have my permission, my boy," she nodded and kissed him on the cheek, "You always have. I was just waiting for her to open those big beautiful eyes of hers and go after the one guy that was worth any merit."

Archie took a step back and nodded in appreciation, "Thank you, Granny."

"I assume that you've already asked her though?" she looked up the stairs where she heard Ruby run from the bathroom to her room to grab some clean clothes, "I don't think she'd appreciate you asking me first."

"I asked her last night when her blind date didn't go so well," he looked at his wrapped hand. She noticed the movement, but thought better to ask after it at another time. He paused before he took another look at Granny, "Just to be clear, nothing hap-"

"I trust you more than David when it comes to anything involving her," she placated him with a waved of her hand and chuckled at his surprised look, "Besides, I think that you would be the last person I would worry about her starting anything with. Including a family with babies and all."

Archie's cheeks lit up in bright red and he coughed into his hand so he wouldn't choke, "I think we have a ways until we reach that point."

"We'll see," Granny laughed again and hit him in the chest.

"Granny will you stop torturing him," Ruby said combing out her wet hair and wearing a new, clean set of clothes. She noticed his bright blush and could only imagine what she had said to him to make him that red.

"Can't have any fun unless I tease your new boyfriend a little," Granny nudged him in the side.

"You had to ask her, didn't you?" Ruby raised a brow at him.

"I told you, I am old fashioned," he shrugged his shoulders and held out his arm for her, "You ready to go to work?"

"I guess so," she checked her pockets for anything else that she may need and took a hold of his arm. She looked back at Granny, "I will see you at the morning rush."

"I will be there," Granny nodded and watched her granddaughter slide into Archie's side like it was second nature. She put her head on his shoulder as they walked down the street and Granny couldn't help the smile that blossomed on her face. Pongo even seemed to have an extra bounce to his step as he walked ahead of them like a proud guardian over them both. She shook her head with a happy chuckle, "I hope that man knows what he is getting into."

* * *

The early morning crew was at the diner just moments after opening. Grumpy sat at the counter and ordered a large coffee so that he could get his wits together before he met the other dwarves at the mine. Mary Margaret ran through the door in a rush to get her coffee and a bear claw before heading back out the door and toward the school. She may be a queen, but she had students to teach as well. Emma came in for a small breakfast and sat at one of her regular tables as she watched Ruby closely as she interacted with the two other patrons in the diner. Archie, of course, was there and sipped on his coffee with two sugars at his regular booth as Pongo lay at his feet and watched Ruby do her opening check lists.

After the lists were through and the other customers had been served, Ruby took a small stack of pancakes over to Archie and sat across from him.

"So, what are your plans for today, love bug?" she asked with a smile before she shoved a piece of cut pancake into her mouth.

"Love bug?" he asked with an amused grin.

"I have every right to call you a cute nickname," she defended and pointed her fork at him with her own smirk, "And it fits, don't you think?"

"I don't think that my opinion will stop you from calling me that," he took a bit of the pancakes and a sip of his coffee.

"You're right, it won't," she nodded in finality. She laughed a little bit as she ate the syrup drenched pancakes and watched him shake his head at the name.

Archie looked at his watch after twenty minutes and sighed, "I have a few errands to run after I drop off Pongo back home. I will be back for lunch, as always."

"And I will have your favorite waiting for you. See if Marco won't come and join us this time," Ruby mentioned and watched him get out of the booth, his to-go cup in his hand, "I have missed him over the past week."

"I know he will enjoy it should he come," he nodded and rolled his eyes as he headed to the door, pulling on Pongo's leash, "Not to mention the immense amount of gloating I get to hear from him once he hears about us."

"Speaking of which, aren't you forgetting something?" Ruby stood up and walked with him to the door, her hands behind her back.

He looked back to her with a brow raised. She leaned forward and puckered her lips toward him. He chuckled quietly and pecked her on the lips. She smiled at the action and tucked his scarf into his jacket to keep him warm.

"You got to get used to public displays of affection now. Now that you are mine, I like to show the other women that you are no longer up for grabs," she explained, "It's another wolf thing."

"I would guess alpha female?" he asked with a whisper of a voice.

She giggled in agreement and kissed him again on his cheek, "I will see you at lunch, love bug."

He blushed a deep red and then with a nod walked out of the diner.

"Yeah, he isn't the only one that needs to get used to the publicity of it all," Grumpy grumbled from his counter seat, "Can't you just keep that gooey stuff private?"

"Be quiet Grumpy and drink your coffee," Ruby pouted and looked over at Emma who wore a shocked expression, "You okay, Emma?"

"He was right," she said in a surprised tone and shook her head slowly, "He was actually right."

"Who was?" Ruby asked with a hand on her hip.

"Never mind," Emma shook her head and pointed at the door that Archie had just left through, "When did this start?"

"Before you were born, I think," Ruby shrugged and shook her head, "I'm just happy that it finally got somewhere. You done with your plate?"

"Yeah, yeah," Emma nodded and shoved the dirty dish toward her.

"Don't act so surprised," Ruby nudged her with her hand in a teasing fashion, "You've seen weirder things."

"I'm not saying its weird; just- I didn't expect it, is all," Emma put a hand on Ruby's arm and the woman looked down at her, "Just so you don't think of getting the wrong idea. I am happy for you. He's a good guy. A lot better than some of the boys in this town."

Ruby smiled genuinely down at her friend, "He's the best guy I know. Thanks, Emma."

"And that's when I call it quits with the emotions," Grumpy hopped down from his stool and placed his money on the counter. He stopped at the diner door and looked back at the two women, "I will be back for lunch, too. Do I get a smooch?"

"Get out of here, Grumpy," Ruby said snarky and tossed a dish towel at him before he walked out the door.

* * *

Archie left Pongo at his apartment and went straight for the convent where he knew the fairies still resided. He had a few questions that he never got answered since there was no reason. Now that he and Ruby had decided to move forward with their relationship, he really needed to get something settled- something that he needed specific magical knowledge for. Who better to go to than with the fairy that had started it all?

He walked into the front hall and looked at the many paintings of the resurrection of Christ and the Virgin Mary. He looked closely at the paintings to admire their workmanship as he waited for the sisters to begin their morning rituals. She would be among the first ones up. She had to be seeing as she was the one that led them all. He heard a sweep of footfalls that sounded fairly close to the flutter of wings and knew that it was her. He turned to the side and there she was. Mother Superior and the Blue Fairy all wrapped up into one. He gave her a friendly smile and she nodded back.

"I didn't expect to ever see you here, Doctor Hopper," she greeted and shook his hand.

"Archie, please," he greeted back and gave her a polite nod, "I apologize for not visiting as Archie, but he wasn't a very over religious man. I don't think I am either to tell you the truth."

"Stick with honesty. I can't really blame you with what we have been through," she smiled politely and then her face shifted a little as she read his, "But you didn't come to talk religious beliefs."

"Not in the slightest," he took a deep breath and gripped at his umbrella at his side, "I would like to talk to you in private, if I could."

"Of course," she nodded and ushered him through the hall toward a series of doors. She opened the second one and waved him in to a small sitting room. She pointed to a chair and he took a seat as she took hers straight across from him, "So, what do you need to know?"

"I want to know if… I mean, _when _we get back to our home, back to our real home," here he paused and looked up at her, "if I will turn back into a cricket."

"Do you want to?" she asked with a slight tilt of her head.

"At first, I wouldn't have minded. I loved the freedom of it. The wind in my wings and the ability to help where and when I could to the people who asked for it. I wasn't stuck in the humanity side of things. I was both man and animal and I had the freedom that came with that," Archie looked at the floor, "It is what I asked for."

"But something has changed," she guessed.

"Yes," Archie nodded and after a long pregnant pause he looked back up at her and said a single word, "Red."

"Ah," she said in a knowing tone and took a deep breath, "I assume that you have told her how you felt and she reciprocated."

"In not so many words, yes," Archie nodded his head from side to side, "We are in a relationship now. I want to make sure that she gets everything that she deserves- things that I know for a fact that a cricket can't give her, because those were the things that I regretted most when I first met her. When I still had wings and she was impossible to hold."

"A wish that powerful can't be simply undone," she whispered, "You wished with all your heart that night that I came to you. You left your humanity behind to help ease that which you inadvertently caused. Something that isn't so easily restored- if at all."

"And yet I still stand as a man even after the curse is lifted," he pointed to himself as if to demonstrate.

"In a land with very little to no magic," she explained and placed her hands against one another as if in a prayer, "Magic has come back, but it is still weak in this world. It was through magic that you became a cricket, it will be through magic again where you will receive your former form. I am sure that when we return home and the magic in free to run through us again, that you will turn back into the small conscience cricket you wished to be."

"And if I don't want it anymore?" Archie asked and closed his eyes at the heavy news, "What if I want to stay a man?"

"You would wish for something so selfish?"

"Is it selfish to finally want to live for me?" he asked and then shook his head, "For the woman that I have loved since the moment I first saw her?"

The woman stayed silent for a moment and when he looked up she held a sad look in her eyes, "I'm afraid that I don't have the answers for you, Jiminy. You made a wish and promised to look after Gepetto for as long as he needed you. That was the price of it, and a price that I believe you still stand by."

Archie took a deep breath and clasped his hands together in front of his mouth, "And if Gepetto no longer needs me… Does that mean that I die?"

"Not necessarily," she put her hands out to calm him as if he was going to break down on her, "It just means that you will live out the rest of your life how you would see fit."

"… as a cricket."

"Again, that is yet to be seen," she answered unsure, "But I assume so, yes."

Archie sighed and stood up, "There is nothing that will keep me human?"

"We will have to see," she offered and watched him think it over.

"Thank you for your time," he sighed and walked out of the room.

"You're welcome," she said quietly after he had left. She sighed heavily and shook her head, "True love never did run smooth. It never does."


	13. Chapter 12: Guy Bonding

**Chapter Twelve****: Guy Bonding**

After the diner began to calm down for the evening Ruby was happily wiping down the counters and looked forward to the next day. Granny had given her the day off and she was more than happy to take it. Now that Archie had cleared the air and was all hers, she didn't want to waste any more time. She smiled even at the most mundane tasks and reminded herself to give him a call when she got back home. Or maybe she would drop by his apartment again.

Suddenly there was a palm that slammed down on the counter in front of her and a very irate looking Belle attached to it. The beauty looked at Ruby and sat on a seat by the counter, "You owe me a story."

"Belle-"

"Wait, I want to hear this, too," Mary Margaret sat next to Belle and put her face in her hands as she leaned toward Ruby.

"You two are blowing this a bit out of proportions, don't you think?" Ruby asked with a tilt of her head, "I have dated before and you two have never been this excited."

"You haven't dated since…" Mary Margaret mentioned and thought to herself for a moment before she answered, "… since the curse broke."

"And I didn't know you before then," Belle pointed out.

"I just think that-" Ruby was stumbling to find some kind of grip on the conversation.

"We are your best friends," Belle pleaded with her and then broke into a grin, "Besides, David, Marco and I along with the help of Granny have been trying to get you two together for weeks now."

"And they told me nothing of it!" Mary Margaret frowned with a cute pout before Ruby could say anything, "Not your grandmother, not even my own husband! I had to hear this from my daughter as she began to rant about it this afternoon after I got home from class."

"We thought that you might tell her," Belle explained.

"Apparently not, since I didn't even know that you liked Archie," Mary Margaret turned back to the waitress still sitting silent in front of them, "When did that happen?"

"I didn't know I did either, until I suddenly did," she explained to her two best friends, "It just kind of happened."

"Is it official?" Belle asked with a large grin.

"It is," Ruby nodded, "He asked me to be his girlfriend last night."

"Wow…" Mary Margaret sighed, "I didn't even think…"

"I know," Ruby rolled her eyes, "Not a lot of people have."

"Well, I am happy for you," Belle smiled and patted her hand, "If anyone knows the twists that love can take, it's me."

"Both of us are happy for you," Mary Margaret chimed in, "I remember how close you two were back in the Enchanted Forest. He really makes you happy, doesn't he?"

"Yes, he does," Ruby smiled more to herself than to either of them.

"So…" Belle dragged out and looked at Ruby, "How did it happen?"

Belle looked at her pointedly as Mary Margaret giggled into her hand.

* * *

A few days later Archie walked down the block and walked by the convent again. A large, sad sigh escaped him before he passed it by completely with the shake of his head. No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't change what it was. There was a big chance that he could turn back into a cricket once they went home… and he had yet to tell Ruby about the fear.

The last few days have been heaven on earth for him. He got to hold her, hug her- God, help him- kiss her. She would snuggle into him while they watched old movies on his couch and cuddle against him when she would sporadically decide to stay the night. He had felt like he was the luckiest man in the universe and hoped that it would continue on forever. Then there was that voice behind his joy, precariously hanging a sharp point over the bubble of happiness that had grown. The point: that he may not be human anymore. He gave up his humanity to help Gepetto. No matter how much he may love her- because he was sure now that he does- he wouldn't be a good boyfriend as an insect. Much less a possible future husband and lover.

He shuffled his foot against the ground and frowned. He didn't want to think of other avenues, but he was seriously starting to wonder if another course of magic may help. Maybe he could talk with Rumplestiltskin again- no. He remembered how well that turned out the last time. He was not going to possibly put Ruby into some kind of danger with magic.

"Archie!"

He snapped his head up and there was David with a large grin on his face. He jogged up to his friend and patted him on the back.

"Hey, David."

"I was hoping to catch up with you," David mentioned, "I have been so wrapped up with Hook and his hi-jinks that I haven't had any time to congratulate you."

"Thank you…" Archie rubbed the back of his neck and looked up and down the street as if to see if anyone else was listening, "Does the whole town know?"

"Well, when a catch like Ruby goes off the market, a lot of guys are going to know," David shrugged with a pause, "And Snow told me the other night."

"Ah," Archie nodded, "Nothing kept from the marital bond."

"Where are you heading?" David asked and began to walk with him.

"Just doing some wondering and wandering," Archie explained, "To clear my head without the tug of the leash in my hand."

"Pongo feeling okay?"

"Just fine."

"You aren't very talkative," David noticed, "What's on your mind?"

"Little things, and not so little things, that I didn't really think of before," Archie sighed and tilted his head, "How close do you think we are to going back to the Enchanted Forest?"

"I don't know," David shrugged and looked at the sidewalk as he thought, "We have to mine for some more diamonds to get enough magic for the fairies to fix up a stable portal back home. Until that point, we may just have to sit and wait. As much as I don't want to admit, but it may be years until we finally get back home."

Archie looked up at the sky and gave a faint nod.

"You're not looking forward to that, are you?" David caught on and stopped walking, "Going back home."

Archie stopped as well and took a deep breath, "I don't know anymore."

"Why?"

"When we go back… I may become a cricket again," he shook his head and kicked at the ground.

"And you think that Ruby will call it quits," David nodded as if he understood.

"No," Archie chuckled sadly and shook his head even more, "No, I don't think that she would. I will."

"Wha- why?"

"What kind of life could I give her, David?" Archie asked with a frown, "I wouldn't even be able to hold her in my arms, much less protect her. Couldn't give her children… something that we both want eventually down the road."

"Love is more than that, Archie. I thought that you knew that."

"Love is exactly the reason why I would give her up. So she could be happy and treated the way she should be. With a man that is able to give her the moon if she so asked for it."

David paused a little and clapped a hand on his friend's back, "Come on. If you are that worried about it, I think that you should live your life to the fullest now. Live it up. Be happy and make her be happy here. Seem to be doing a great job of that. I saw her in the diner earlier, dancing up a storm."

Archie smirked and chuckled a little to himself, "She's been apt to doing that lately."

"Yeah, I never saw her do that before."

Both men began to walk again and Archie took a glance over to his friend and back to the sidewalk as a question formulated in his mind. He coughed and then took a deep breath to ask what promised to be a very awkward and possibly silly question.

"David, tell me if I am out of line, but…" Archie struggled with his question and tried to gesture with his hands. After a moment he shook his head, "Well, let me put it this way. Ruby is getting… a little frustrated with me."

"Doesn't seem like it. Why would she be frustrated?" David asked with a quirk of his eyebrow, "You haven't talked to her about the cricket thing, have you?"

"No, not yet anyway," Archie shook his head and stopped on the sidewalk again and leaned toward David to whisper, "We haven't…"

"Haven't…?" David scanned the area with his eyes since Archie seemed hypersensitive to the amount of people in the area. Of which only included a stray cat and Miss Ginger heading into the grocery store across the street.

"Haven't… been intimate," Archie confessed and let out a breath, "I told her that we should take it slow and go at a steady pace. She deserves a relationship that is built of trust, honesty and love; not on lust, passion and well, sex."

David chuckled a little and put a hand on his shoulder, "Archie, you do know that you can have all the positives and still be intimate? It's a big part of being in a relationship."

"I know, but I don't want to jump the gun, David," Archie explained, "We just started seeing each other. I don't want to be another one of those bad decisions that she will see as a mistake of Ruby."

"You love her," David said simply and Archie didn't dispute it, "That's one thing that you have over the others. How long have you loved her?"

"Since the night we met," Archie said immediately, "Maybe not quite love at first sight, but close enough."

"That's a lot of years pining after one woman," David stated, "I am guessing that Archie also had a thing for Ruby when we were under the curse."

"He respected her and even asked her once about a date."

"I don't see a problem with taking the next step."

"But we just- and she-" Archie pointed in the direction of the diner, "And I-"

"Problems with the women, huh?" a voice said from behind them.

Both of the men turned to see a handsome man leaning against the door frame of a store with the windows blacked out. He wore a dark green button up with kahki slacks and a hundred dollar smile. His dark hair was slick, but still held a curl as he ran a hand through it.

"I couldn't help overhear your dilemma, my friend," he said smoothly and wrapped an arm around Archie's neck. He turned him toward the store with blacked out windows and walked him toward it, "And you have come to the right place."

"Naveen, I don't think that you have the answers he needs," David said after the man.

"So says the man that was in the wrong woman's bed during the curse," Naveen pointed at David who then began to follow them in.

"David, how do you know him?" Archie asked when they crossed the threshold.

"We shared a few fantastic nights with one another back home in another land," Naveen mentioned and smiled at David.

"David?" Archie asked a little unsure.

"He was a prince back home as well. He had been brought in to help me with etiquette."

"You make it sound so droll, my friend," Naveen pulled Archie in and opened his hand to show him the store, "Now, my friend, what can I help you with to make that special night even more special?"

Archie blanched at the small store in front of him. There were movies, books… what did that sign say? Toys?! He looked at the end cap facing them and his eyes widened. Why would you even need something that big?

Archie turned back to Naveen, "You opened a sex shop!? In Storybrooke?!"

"Indeed," Naveen nodded with a shrug, "When you know something, you know it, no?"

"I bet Tiana is thrilled," David put his hands on his hips and looked over the many, many items, "Does she know about this?"

"She doesn't like to talk about it," Naveen shook his head and suddenly clapped his hands together. He chuckled to the still red faced Archie who jumped, "Now describe to me your woman."

"Uh…" Archie's tongue felt too big to use and he floundered in the choosing of words.

"It's Ruby," David supplied and kept an eye on the small lingerie section in the back.

"Ah, the lovely wolf girl," Naveen nodded.

"I think I should do my own shopping," David noted a few of the price signs.

"You already have your eyes on something, don't you?" Naveen poked at David's shoulder with a knowing smile, "We are having a sale. Two for one, for that special some_one_."

"I'll be back," David walked over to the section and began to peruse.

"David, don't-" Archie called out, but couldn't reach his friend in time, "…leave me alone with him."

"So, first love, I am thinking," Naveen put his arm around Archie's neck again and patted him on the chest over the heart. He nodded after a moment and Naveen continued, "Ahh, it is so special. You want this to mean something to you both. A joining of two souls, two hearts- not just a fun night. Am I close?"

"Well, eventually that's what I would like, yes," Archie nodded and quickly tried to add, "But I-"

"You are a romantic, my doctor friend," Naveen smirked and poked at him in the chest. He chuckled and nodded, "Don't worry, I will take care of you. I think that maybe some reading materials will help. You seem like the book type. I have the perfect one to bring out that alpha male, huh?"

"I just want it to be natural," Archie said as Naveen began to pull books from the shelves and stack them in Archie's hands, "I don't want it to be learned. I feel that when it felt right, it would happen and not before and not after. It would just be, just like we were."

"And it will," Naveen nodded in agreement, "but it doesn't hurt to have some, uh, tricks up the sleeve, no?"

Archie sighed and let Naveen have his fun for the moment. He looked at a few of the titles and tilted his head. Maybe a few tricks wouldn't hurt.

"A few unknown tricks are good to have."

Archie turned to the voice and saw none other than Hook leaning on the side of one of the aisles. He held that still righteous air and held another book in his hand. Archie frowned and tried to focus on the books in his hands and not on the man to his side.

"I don't take your opinion into much consideration," Archie said in a deadpan voice and smirked when he saw the still yellow and green bruising around Hook's nose, "How's the nose?"

"Healing," Hook smirked back, not even perturbed, "How's the love life? Blossoming, I take it."

"None of your concern," Archie frowned and narrowed his eyes, "Except that Ruby is off limits."

"Good for you," Hook smiled and closed the book in his hand, "If I were you- which gladly I am not-"

Archie frowned.

"I would stick with the second book up. I read it earlier. You may learn something," Hook put the book he was reading down and smiled as he left the shop.

"I really don't like him," Archie growled and looked at the stack of five books in his hands from Naveen's selection.

"You know, I don't blame you," Naveen said and leaned on the books in Archie's hands, making him shift his weight to keep balance, "That man is bad news and we agree on noting. _Except!_ For how to please a woman. He is right; the second book from the bottom would be good for a first timer."

Archie blushed again and began to try to push him off the stack in his hands.

The front door opened and Naveen's eyes lit up at the new arrival. He threw his hands up in the air and greeted his next customer, "Gold! My friend! Welcome back!"

Gold stood at the front of the store and caught the look from David who was now searching for his second set of lingerie and Archie, hands filled with books. He coughed and then began to walk back out, "I've come at a very bad time."

"Nonsense!" Naveen came up to him and tried to reign in his customer, "How is that beautiful Belle doing? Enjoy her last gift?"

David came to stand by Archie and watched with a bit of humor as Archie tried to put the books back.

"Very much so," Gold answered.

"I knew she would," Naveen smiled proudly, "I knew that _gold_ was her color. Huh, huh?"

"Yes," Gold took a breath a little uncomfortable in current company.

"Anything that I can get for you?"

"I will just look for now, I will call on you if anything catches my eye," Gold walked by David and Archie and gave him a slight nod of his head, "Charming. Cricket."

"Mister Gold," Archie nodded back and David smirked a little.

After he walked past them David chuckled low so he wouldn't let Gold hear him, "Who would have thought?"

"Are you ready?" Naveen looked at David's hands where two sets of lingerie sat.

"Yeah," David smiled and walked to the register by the door.

Archie was down to his last two books and held on to the one that both Hook and Naveen had mentioned. He looked at it carefully and read the back. He didn't think that it was going to happen for a while, but he might as well try. Ruby was always telling him to step out and learn something new. Get out of his comfort zone and enjoy life every once in a while. He brought the book up to the counter after David had finished. He paid for the book and walked away with it in a brown paper bag. Naveen smiled at his choice.

"Come back soon," Naveen said as they walked out the door, "Tell me if it was worth it."

Archie looked at the bag and then back at David as they walked away from the store front, "Let's never do that again."

"Why not?" David smiled, "I thought it was enlightening."

"Just answer me this…" Archie looked at his friend seriously, "Did you see what was facing the front of the store?"

"So you saw it too," David sighed.

"Why would anyone need something that big and that long?"

Both men shook their heads and nodded to each other before they walked toward their homes.

* * *

**A/N**: I just couldn't help myself. My friend and usual beta reader told me about this possibility jokingly... and I had to run with it. Just a little fun and funny chapter to keep up with the up coming drama. Hope you guys enjoyed!


	14. Chapter 13: First Attack

**Chapter Thirteen****: First Attack**

Archie ran his fingers down Ruby's back as she laid over him comfortably out on his couch. She kept one arm sandwiched between the two of them while her other hung lazily over the side to brush over Pongo's ears as he lay at the side of the couch. Ruby kept her ear to Archie's chest and smiled as his heart beat rhythmically under her. The one hand that drew his fingers over her back and shoulders stilled for a moment as he reached for the remote and turned the television off. He splayed his fingers on her back and kissed the top of her head which lay just below his chin.

"Time to go to bed," he announced.

"Goodnight," she said back and snuggled against his chest.

"I am not spending the night out on the sofa," he said and sat up with a struggled groan coming from her.

"I was so comfy," she muttered and sat on his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a long, slow kiss to his lips. As she ran her hands through his hair she moved her lips from his and toward his jaw.

"You are going to keep me up," he warned her and reluctantly drew back, "I have a round of patients tomorrow. The last thing they need is a sleepy doctor tending to their mental problems."

Ruby sighed and sat back, "Sometimes Jiminy, I don't even think you want me."

"Oh, believe me, that is not it," he chuckled and pulled her toward him so she could feel a part that definitely wanted her. He leaned up to kiss her with his hands sliding from her waist to her hips, "But the last appointment is with Regina and I definitely want my head clear for that one. We haven't seen much of here since Cora and Hook came into town. That bothers me since Henry hasn't seen her either."

"She touches you, she's dead meat," Ruby said simply, "Wolf's time is coming up in the next couple of days. I have no problem unleashing it on her should she cross some lines."

"We will see where the appointment goes," he nodded and stood up with a little difficulty, shifting Ruby to the side.

"In a good direction, I hope," she walks after him and looked back at Pongo, "You coming, boy?"

Pongo huffed and just turned on his back.

"He's staying out here for now by the looks of it," Archie smiled at his dog and held on to Ruby's hand as they made their way into the bed room.

They both got ready for bed as if they had been doing it side by side for years. He changed into comfortable sleep pants and an under shirt while she slipped into one of his older shirts and a pair of shorts she brought from her room. She snuggled into her side of the bed and he slipped in next to her. It was routine already and they hadn't been together more than a week. Archie chuckled a bit as he felt her leg and arm stretch over him.

"What?" she asked sleepily.

"I was just thinking," he said as he took off his glasses and set them on the side table.

"What?" she asked again.

"We already have a routine," he smirked and covered her hand over his chest with his own as he wrapped his other arm around her, "You know how many of my clients don't have a routine with their significant others after years of being together? It's something that they complain about. Worry about. And here we are, barely in our honeymoon phase and we don't even seem to think about it."

"We never had to," Ruby said simply and she kissed his shoulder where his shirt rode up his arm, "It's just been a natural thing with us."

"You're right," he nodded and kissed the top of her head, "I have never felt more comfortable with anyone other than you."

"The same for me," she smiled and buried her face into his neck, "Go to sleep. You have clients tomorrow."

Silence settled over the room until Archie took a deep breath and wondered out loud, "Would you still be with me if I were still a cricket?"

She stirred next to him and then picked her head up to lean over him, "What brought that question on?"

"We met when I was a cricket and I know that a cricket wouldn't make a good candidate for anything more than a friend," he looked up at her, knowing that she could see his eyes and facial expression in the dark, "What if… what if I turn back when we go home?"

"Oh Jiminy…" she gave him a sad, but understanding smile. She leaned over and kissed him softly before she put her head back down on his shoulder and hugged him tighter, "I don't care what form you're in. You're still my love bug. I would be proud to be with you in either."

"An insect is not going to be a good lover or father, Red."

"Will I have you?" she asked and shifted her head to look at his profile above her.

He looked down with a serious look. He kissed her on her forehead and whispered, "You will always have me."

"Than I will be fine," she nodded against his shoulder, "Now, go to sleep."

Once he heard her breathing even out he pushed his face into her hair.

"I love you," he whispered and closed his eyes to try to find some sleep.

* * *

Archie looked over his framed diplomas and contemplated on taking them down. Now that he knew the truth, was it really worth it to keep them up? They weren't real, they never were. They were just pieces in a very clever and detailed ruse to fool him and the rest of the town. The people that came to see him knew this, but still came just the same. Everyone needed someone to talk to even if it was someone who was just a listening ear.

It was a long day for him. After closing for a couple of weeks from the attack from King George, his patients became back logged. He had sessions back to back throughout the day and he even had to skip lunch and sent Marco with his apologies to Ruby at the diner. Maybe she would pack up his usual and he could eat it on another day. Now, he had five minutes between his previous session and the last session of the day. Regina.

A knock tapped on his door and he pulled at his tie over the simple green button up that he put on this morning. He opened the door and was somewhat relieved that it was Regina alone. He didn't want to expect the worse when she had been making such great progress, but he didn't want to be caught off guard either. He looked down in her hands and noticed the apple pie wrapped up in plastic.

"Hello Regina," Archie greeted her and waved her into his office.

"New furnishings I see," she noted and put the pie on the table in front of the couch. She moved her eyes to the pie and then back to him, "I made the pie myself, if you would like some."

"What's the occasion?" he asked and closed the door to start the session. He felt his stomach ache for the fresh piece of baked goods offered, but was still wary. It was apple, after all.

"A thank you," Regina said with a small smile, "I don't think that I could have gotten as far as I have if it wasn't for your help."

"And Henry," Archie sat in his usual chair and leaned toward her.

"Yes, Henry's been a great motivator," she nodded and pointed again to the pie, "Why don't you have some? I insist."

"I shouldn't," he shook his head and for the first time in a while, he fibbed, "I will have dinner waiting for me when I get home tonight."

"Someone's cooking for you?" Regina asked with a start.

"Ruby," he nodded and squinted on the inside. Probably wasn't a good thing to talk about his personal life.

"Miss Lucas," Regina nodded and leaned back in her seat, "That's a new development."

"It's fairly new, yes," Archie said slowly and brought out his notepad, "But time to tell me about your new developments. How have you been fairing?"

"Aren't you going to ask me about my mother?" Regina asked back and looked him in the eyes, "I know you want to know."

"This is the time to talk about what you want to talk about, not what I do," Archie explained, "Do you want to talk about her?"

"Just maybe," she nodded and then pointed to the pie again, "If you have a slice."

Archie narrowed his eyes and held up his notepad as if a miniature shield. It wasn't much, but it was all he had, "What is so important about that pie, Regina?"

"I just thought that it would be a good way to bury the hatchet."

"No, there is more to it then that," Archie shook his head, "… have you been practicing in potions again?"

She looked down into her lap and closed her eyes in a silent positive. As she heard him take in a breath and shot a look up at him, "Don't you dare judge me."

"I am not here to judge you," he said immediately with a frown, "But this is a lapse that we must talk about."

"She was right," Regina thought to herself and shook her head, "No matter what I do, you will all still judge me, won't you?"

"What are you talking about, Regina?"

She stood up and in her right hand he could see a dark glow of purple mist surround her hand. He backed up into his chair and watched the hand carefully.

"Regina…" he said in a warning manner.

"Don't even speak," she ground out and flung her hand to the side sending him back, over his chair and into the wall behind him.

"Arg," he hit the wall hard and slid down to the floor. He rolled to the side as she threw some kind of spell at him. He carefully walked along the perimeter of the room toward the door, "Regina, what are you doing?"

"My mother was right," she said again and shook her head while she raised her hand to throw another spell, "I wasn't made for anything more."

"Jiminy?" was accompanied by a knock to the door as it opened and Ruby walked in calmly with a bag of food in her hand. She looked up to see Regina with her hand raised toward her boyfriend and felt the wolf in her growl and try to pry to the surface. She dropped the food and stepped toward Regina, "What are you doing?"

"What you expect me to do," Regina sneered and waved a hand at her which sent Ruby to the other side of the room.

"Red!" Archie pushed himself up and tried to run to her, but was pushed back down by an invisible force.

"I was just going to start with you, but I guess two main players will do just as well," Regina smirked and built up a nice, dark glow in her hand.

"Regina!" Ruby barked from behind the woman and Regina turned to see a wolf charging at her. Regina jumped out of the way as wolf Ruby turned and protected Archie behind her.

"It's not wolf's time yet!" Regina yelled.

"_Some things just bring the wolf out in me_," Ruby growled out. Archie smiled a little at her comeback, but it seemed like all Regina heard was the growling of a wolf.

"Regina?"

Regina and Archie turned toward the doorway where Emma and Mary Margaret had come in. They had followed Ruby from the diner and wanted to spend some time with Archie as well.

"A little too many for my taste," Regina muttered and turned with a flourish as she disappeared.

"Where did she go?" Emma asked and eyed the room.

"Back to her home, I am guessing."

"Where's Henry?" Archie suddenly asked from the floor.

"With David," Mary Margaret said and put a hand on Emma's shoulder, "I think we need to tell him."

"I think so too," Emma frowned with a sigh, "He is not going to like this."

Ruby, still in wolf form, walked over to Archie and licked him on one side of his face, "_Are you okay_?"

"I'm fine," he smiled and looked around his office, "I was worried more about my office, to tell you the truth. Just remodeled and everything."

The wolf shook her head and then laid over his lap. The form shrank down until Ruby was back to her usual self and wrapped her arms around Archie, "I guess it was my turn to save you."

He wrapped her in a hug and looked at the two royal women, "We have to do something about this."

"We have to prepare," Mary Margaret agreed and took out her phone.

* * *

The war table was put back together and all attended the last were there again. The talk was brief and included what had happened on the inside of Archie's office with Regina- the only time that he broke his patient's privilege. The royals were upset and could only think that it was because of Cora's influence that Regina would slip back into old habits. Hook agreed and knew that it was so, it was past speculation. Gold told them that he would be working on some counter measures that should help and aide in the fight with Cora if that it what it came down to. He had hoped that Regina would be on their side should a fight erupt between them and her mother, but it looked like the little girl fell under her mother' thumb once again. Gold had put a purple mist around the pie that Regina had brought Archie and it instantly turned black. Poison, just as they thought.

Afterwards, the table stayed for a small dinner made by Granny. Ruby stuck to Archie's side like glue, with her head on his shoulder. He would lean over and kiss the top of her head every so often to let her know he was still there. Marco sat on Archie's other side and eyed the pirate warily; unsure of the man from what Archie had told him. Granny passed out cups of coffee or hot chocolate to everyone to warm them up from the chill that had crept up that night before she brought out dinner. Gold and Belle sat close to Archie and Red and Belle kept casting glances their way. Emma sat with Hook standing behind her, more of a source of information than an actual member of the table. At the far side Mary Margaret and David sat with one another talking low to try to find a way to make Storybrooke and the denizens safe.

"Ruby, can I barrow you for a minute?" Granny asked as she passed Ruby and Archie to head into the kitchen.

Ruby looked at Archie as if he was going to disappear. He nodded his head with an encouraging smile, "Go ahead. I will be here when you get back."

She kissed him on the cheek and headed to the back with Granny. That left her spot open and a very tempting opportunity for a certain pirate to commandeer. Hook rounded the table and sat down in the now vacant chair. He smiled knowingly at the doctor once Archie turned to him.

"I believe that the chair is taken," Archie said and took a sip out of his cup.

"I get your hatred of me," Hook rolled his eyes, "I really do, but just hear me out."

"Why should I?" Archie turned to him with Marco curiously looking on, "You were hurting Ruby because, why? For attention? To forcibly make her date you? You don't deserve anyone's attention, much less hers."

"I did that for you, mate," Hook said and heard Archie scoff as the therapist turned away, "Did you think you were ever going to act on your own concerning her?"

"We were wondering that ourselves," Marco pointed out with a small smile.

"Marco," Archie frowned and shook his head at his oldest friend, "Don't encourage him. I can already tell that he has an ego problem."

"I just wanted to touch base," Hook continued as he ignored the last comment and Archie took a deep breath. Archie was always known for his patience and laid back attitude when it came to other people's eccentrics, but when it came to the pirate captain his patience ran thin.

"About what?"

"How is it going with your woman?" he asked.

"Like Heaven on Earth," Archie said honestly, "Why?"

"I was wondering because of the attack," Hook shrugged and gained Archie's full attention, "I just want to make sure that you can protect her. The way that it was described, she did most of the protecting."

"I protected her against you, didn't I?" Archie narrowed his eyes at the part of his face still marred by discoloration.

"You have to get at least one good hit in, don't you?" Hook smirked and knew that he got under Archie's skin just a bit, "Every bug has its day… speaking of which, did you even have a back bone while in that other form?"

"I don't know what your aim is, Hook," Archie started and stared at him with a smile of his own to try to get the pirate to back down, "But I will never let you hurt her again. I will do whatever I need to for her. I always have, I always will."

"What about fight?" Hook asked with a tilt of his head, "Despite the one good shot at me, you stay pretty non-violent, don't you?"

"Whenever I can, I do," Archie nodded.

"In this fight coming up, because believe me there will be a fight with Cora at the helm, you will need to fight. Words will do nothing and agreements will not be made."

"What is your point?"

"You can't protect her," Hook said simply, "You don't have the claws that she does."

"Not everyone needs claws or teeth to fight in their own ways," Marco said from the other side of Archie.

"But they do need some kind of bite," Hook said and nodded to Archie who had stayed quiet, "I will leave you to your dinner. Goodnight, gentleman."

As Hook left, Archie's eyes seemed to settle on the blacken pie that was still left out on the table. He frowned and thought back to when Ruby was thrown to the other wall. He tried to get up to help and was immediately thrown back down by nothing but the flick of Regina's wrist. How did he expect to protect her when he couldn't protect himself?

"Archie, you know that man is just trying to test you," Marco said and saw the thought process that was taking place in his friend's mind, "Pay him no heed."

"How can't I when he has a point?" Archie said with his eyes still on the pie, "She could have been hurt, or worse, because I didn't do anything."

Marco stayed quiet and tried to think of a way to communicate important issues to his friend. The only problem is that Archie was usually the one talking him up, not the other way around. It wasn't his place, but he hated to see his friend is such a rough place.

"Are you guys ready to eat?" Ruby asked from behind them and sat down Marco, Archie's and her own plates as Granny began to hand out the others.

"I don't feel so well," Archie said suddenly and looked up to Ruby with a forced smile, "I think I am going to head home."

"Everything okay, love bug?" she asked and felt his forehead for a temperature.

"I'll be okay," he took her hand from his forehead and kissed the back of it, "I think I just need to lie down."

"Then I will come with you," she said calmly and stepped to get her coat.

"No, stay here and have some time with our friends," he shook his head, "I'll be okay."

She frowned at him, taken as a partial surrender. He kissed her on the cheek and nodded to Marco as he left the table.

Belle noticed his retreat and the curve of his back. She looked at Marco who gave her a sad look with a small shake of his head. Ruby stood still and looked worried. Belle patted Gold on the shoulder to let him know that she was going to talk with Ruby. He nodded to her and started a conversation with David about what magic could be used in defense. Belle stood next to her friend and bumped shoulders with her.

"What is wrong?" Belle asked and looked from the door that Archie had used and back to her best friend. Ruby seemed to jerk to attention and shook her head.

"He said he didn't feel well," Ruby said quietly.

"You don't believe it," Belle answered immediately.

"It isn't like him to lie," Ruby tilted her head and subconsciously reached for her jacket, "Especially about something so little."

"You are going to follow him?" Belle asked with her hands behind her back, the picture perfect innocent lady.

"You're damn right, I am," Ruby said in the back of her throat and followed Archie's retreat.

Belle smiled at her friend's determined steps and looked back at Marco and then to Mary Margaret who had a confident grin on her face. She knew Red's stances and that stride out the door meant that she was on a mission. She winked to Belle to let her know it was going to be okay and Belle came back to sit down with Gold.


	15. Chapter 14: Mates

**A/N: **So this is the chapter that makes the rating, just to give you guys a heads up. Hope you enjoy and thank you for all your reviews and encouragements thus far!

**Chapter Fourteen**: **Mates**

Archie walked a lot, he found. Apparently his office wasn't the only place that he escaped to when he felt like he needed to think. The pounding of his slow steps seemed to echo in his mind. Each step he was drawing further and further from her and he felt strained. He loved her, he knew this. He had known it for a while, just never realized it.

"Jiminy!"

His head snapped up and he looked behind him to see Ruby running at him. She slowed down and stopped in front of him. She took a deep breath to slow down her heartbeat.

"I told you that you could stay and talk with everyone," he said with a small smile.

"Why did you lie?" she asked.

"What?" he leaned back from the question and looked at her as he blinked his eyes in surprise, "What do you-"

"You aren't feeling sick," she shook her head and grabbed one of his hands, "You shouldn't have to lie to me. Tell me what's wrong."

He sighed and shook his head, "It's nothing."

"No, it's something," she held his hand close and stepped up to him. His arms immediately wrapped around her and she pressed her face into his neck, just under his chin, "You take care of everyone else, you sometimes forget to take care of yourself. Talk to me, Jiminy."

He hugged her tighter and planted a kiss in her hair. He took a deep breath, "I can't protect you."

"What?" Ruby pulled back and looked up to his face. In his eyes she could see the start of tears and doubt begin to manifest. She took a breath and gave him a smile, "You are so insensible sometimes for being such an intelligent guy."

"I couldn't protect you against Regina," he said simply and looked down at the space between the two of them and watched the tip of his shoe that was visible, "She threw you into that wall and I could only sit and watch. I don't deserve you."

"Jiminy-" she began to scold him.

"I am no alpha male, Red. I am barely even a man, if one at all. Most of what I have done in my life has been as an insect. I am… I- I don't even know what."

She picked his face up to look to hers, "I do."

"Do what?"

"Know what you are," she said and pulled his arms tighter around her waist as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Her forehead touched his and she closed her eyes slightly from the pressure. After a moment she took a breath and opened her eyes to his bright blue ones, "You are honest to a fault. You are passionate about everything that you do and feel is right. No matter what challenges you face, you always do your best. You give yourself to your patients to make sure that they can have a better life and a better outlook. Everyone's best interests rest in front of your own and people look to you for advice and for council. People that have never even met you, seek you out because of who you are. You have raised not one, but two fantastic men- and I know where ever Pinocchio may be, he is a better man because of you. Yes, you did a lot of this as a cricket, but imagine…"

He furrowed his brows as he waited for her to continue.

"Just imagine what you can do now as a man," she smiled brightly and leaned in to kiss him.

When she leaned back he had a smile on his face again, "How do you know what to say?"

"Like I said, I know you," she cupped his face in her hands and kissed him again. This time he returned the kiss and wrapped his hand in her hair and around her waist. She pushed herself up against him and instead of stepping away as he would have done just yesterday, he returned the gesture. She gasped at the action, not expecting it and broke the contact with his lips to look up at his eyes. There was a look she had never seen from him before, a look she's been waiting for. She pulled at the collar of his shirt with a grin, "Not just one of us is the protector. We protect one another. That's what mates do."

"Mates?" he asked with a lift of an eyebrow.

"Believe it or not," she pulled at his shirt again, "_We_ are not going anywhere and that makes us mates."

"Another wolf thing?" he asked and kissed the side of her lips.

"A me thing," she said back, "A promise. You protect me, I protect you."

"Always," he agreed and felt her shiver, "You're cold. We should head back inside."

"I don't want to go back in there," she shook her head and saw that he still had that look in his eyes, "I want to go home with you."

"Are you sure?" he asked as if it was a more delicate or serious question and she felt the weight of it.

"Never more sure than anything else in the world," she gripped his hand and began to walk with him toward his apartment.

From the front window of the Bed and Breakfast, five pairs of eyes watched the interaction with interest. Belle and Mary Margaret gushed over the interaction and David high fived Marco. Granny looked on with pride and as her granddaughter began to walk off into the night with Archie and she turned to the others.

"Okay, that's enough for you, you looky-loos," she shooed them back toward the table.

"And with that, they are unbreakable," Hook said as she dug into some of the food as the others came back to the table.

Emma looked at him harshly, "But you aren't. You keep pushing at Archie like that, I won't say anything when he punches you again and breaks that pretty boy face of yours, except that 'I told you so'."

"You think I am handsome?" he asked with a smirk, "You actually paid me a compliment?"

Emma huffed and rolled her eyes as she began to dig into the food.

* * *

As soon as Archie turned from his closed and locked front door, Ruby jumped at him. If not for the wall behind him she would have knocked him to the floor. Her hands ran through his hair, and over his back as her tongue mingled with his. He groaned in appreciation and wrapped a tight arm around her waist as his other hand went to her hair. He pushed from the door and they began to stumble back toward his bedroom. His jacket and tie were the first to hit the floor, followed by her jacket. They both chuckled and laughed against the other's lips after every bump with the couch or a wall.

Pongo saw them enter, but after seeing that they were a little busy, yawned and put his head back down to continue his nap. He could always ask for his dinner later.

The bedroom door closed right after they entered and Ruby tried to push Archie to the bed. He still had a good grip on her waist and pulled her down with him. She shrieked a little in surprise and laughed as she landed over him. They kicked off shoes and lay with one another, placing soft kisses over each other's faces. Ruby soon moved from his face to his jaw and then to his neck. His hands seemed to spur her on as they combed through her hair. She began to unbutton his shirt and kissed down after every one was undone, slightly hindered by his under shirt.

"This is unfair," she said and pulled the button up out from his pants.

"What is?" he asked slightly out of breath and looked up at the woman above him. She straddled his hips and leaned over his top half with a grip still on his shirt and his hands now firmly on her hips.

"You have more layers than I do," she smiled and ground her pelvis into his making him moan and she felt a certain part of his spring to life, "I have more work to do."

"I know you always love a challenge," he answered back and pulled her down to him to kiss her thoroughly.

She smiled against his lips and pulled at his under shirt that was still stuck inside his pants. She pulled it out and ran her hands against his stomach and chest under the shirt. She hummed in satisfaction by what she felt. He had a slight smattering of hair over his chest and stomach and, despite his calm nature, was in good shape. He leaned up and let her take the t-shirt off of him, dragging the button up with it. She leaned back over and began to kiss him down the neck and then down the chest.

"Red…" he panted.

"Don't worry, Jiminy," she soothed and drug her body up and against his. She kissed his jaw and then sucked on his earlobe, "Let me take care of you."

"This is a mutual thing," he groaned at another pull at his ear.

"Yes, and you are doing marvelously," she whispered then kissed to the other ear, "I want to please you."

"Good, because I want to do the same for you," he said and turned suddenly. She was then the one on the bottom. He leaned down and kissed her lips with his hands on either side of her head. His mouth began to wander down her chin over her neck and then over her clavicle bones. His hands went to her shirt which he quickly pulled over her head and went back to smothering her upper chest with kisses. Her hands went to his hair and she almost purred at his attention to her. His hands went to her back and with one flick, her bra was undone.

"Jiminy!" she muttered and looked at him wide eyed. He reared back, afraid that he had done something to hurt her. She laughed lightly at him and shook her head, "I didn't think that you knew how to take off a woman's bra."

"I am a fast learner," he smiled and chuckled with her. He leaned back down and began to kiss along her arms where the straps of her red lace bra began to shift down, "I've been reading up."

"Ah," she sighed in contentment, "I thought that the book on your nightstand seemed out of place."

He only chuckled against her skin and moved down to kiss around her navel, "I was hoping you didn't see it."

She pulled his face back up to hers, "You don't need to catch up or read up… you are perfect the way you are."

"And here I thought the same thing about you," he smiled. She smiled wide up at him and pulled him down for a heated kiss.

As their lips mingled, her hands slid down his chest and began to unbuckle his belt. He pushed his body back to help her in the endeavor, but kept his lips on hers. She undid the button and zipper and began to shimmy the pants from his hips. He carefully kicked them off and was bare save for his boxers. He then turned to nip at her neck.

"You said I had more layers, and yet I am the one the most divested."

"I got impatient," she offered with a tilt of her head. The bra then slipped totally from her arms and her top half laid bare for him. He drank her in with his eyes and seemed a bit stunned by the sight of the half naked woman below him. She pulled his lower half toward her and rubbed herself against him, "I still am."

He understood the context and began to work on the red pants she was wearing. He unbuttoned the fly and peeled the tight clothing from her legs. Every move was agony and pure bliss. She helped him pull the last of the pants off and he was at her throat again with his mouth. This time as it traveled south, it latched on gently to one of her nipples. She arched and moaned loudly at the action. She thought that she would be most of the seducing in the bedroom, but he was standing well on his own merit without any prompting from her.

"Yes… Jiminy," she panted and curled her fingers in his hair. He suckled and nipped at the bud of tender flesh before he moved over and gave the same amount of attention to the other. His other hand moved down and cupped over her red silk panties and felt the heat and a damp spot over her crotch. He began to rub against her and she pushed her pelvis up toward him. She breathed out in a symphony of sounds that he wished to hear again and again, especially since he knew he was the one that was behind them. A sense of accomplishment and pride overwhelmed him and he moaned in possessiveness.

"Jiminy… please," she whimpered and he pulled his head up from her chest.

"What?" he asked and watched her half lidded eyes focus on his, "What do you want?"

"You," she answered clearly and opened her legs, "All I have ever wanted was you."

He settled himself between her legs and peeled back her panties from her, inch by excruciating inch. The red material came off and slid down one leg and then the other and to the floor. He could feel himself grow to a painful stage in his boxers and he couldn't stand it much longer. He pushed down his boxers and centered himself at her core.

"Red…" he hesitated and looked at her in the eyes.

"All I have ever wanted," she repeated and reached down. She cupped him and hummed in appreciation of what he assumed was his size. She bit her bottom lip and pulled him toward her and pushed him against her opening, "Please, Jiminy. Make love to me… become my mate."

"This is forever, Red," he reminded her and put his face next to her ear to steady himself.

"We wolves mate for life, Jiminy," she reminded him as well and bit at his ear closest to her, "Although if you don't keep going, I will take you. So you better get on with it."

He pushed his forehead against her shoulder the same time that he pushed into her. He pushed himself all the way in her until he felt his pelvis hit and meet hers. Her fingernails dug into his back, but the pain was nothing compared to the immense pleasure that bloomed inside him. Ruby hung on for dear life as something amazing happened, something that never happened with any other man. Archie had not only filled her physically, but completely. It was a final missing piece falling into place and she finally- after who knows how many years- felt whole. She moaned in complete pleasure and bent forward and gently nipped at Archie's shoulder in a way to mark him now that he was completely and utterly hers.

"Are you okay?" he asked into her shoulder that he was grounding himself to.

"Will be as soon as you start moving," she said with a light tone.

"As my lady wishes," he said softly and began to move in a rhythmic speed.

It started soft and slow at first, just what they both needed. Then it began to build in urgency and need. He gripped the blankets of his bed on either side of her body as her fingernails kept a hold of his back. Her legs lifted and hooked over his hips, driving him on. He looked down at her as she cooed and sighed from his thrusts. They soon turned from soft to yells and howls of pleasure. He took pride in them and pushed harder to elicit more from her before either of them reached their peak.

As he felt her begin to tighten around him he looked straight into her face, "Red, look at me."

Her eyes lifted heavily and her hands finally moved from his back to his shoulders. One of his hands moved to her hip as he found more purchase to push. She called out his name as the new position pushed into her deeper. He licked his lips as he panted and gritted his teeth to push himself.

"Red," he called to her through his teeth. She immediately looked at him, "I want to see you."

She knew what he meant and she never heard something so romantic and erotic. She smiled slightly up at him just before he pushed hard and fast just in the right spot. She tightened her grip on his shoulders and cried out.

"Gods, Jiminy!" she furrowed her brows at the immense rush of pleasure that shot through her body. He watched her mouth fall open and her silent scream filled the space between them. He kissed her neck as she threw back her head and with a few more of his own thrusts came tumbling after her with her name echoing the walls of his room.

He collapsed partially on top of her and partly on the bed next to her. After a few minutes trying to put his mind in some kind of order, he felt her fingers brushing through his hair. He shifted his glasses, still on through the whole love making, and saw her bright smile above him. His chin was resting just above her breasts and he never thought that he could be so comfortable.

"That was…" she started out with and took a deep and cleaning breath.

He tried not to cringe at the answer that may follow. Was it that unsatisfying? That horrible?

She chuckled and ran a hand over her forehead to start over, "That was the best orgasm that I have ever had. You, Doctor Hopper, are a natural."

He smiled in relief and crawled up the bed to join her on the pillows, "And here I thought that it was just that bad."

"Nothing you did tonight would constitute as anything close to 'bad' in my book, Jiminy," she smiled like a Cheshire cat and wrapped herself around him when he was back on his side of the bed properly. She put her head on his shoulder as he pulled the covers up. She drew some invisible patterns on his bare chest with her pointer finger, "In fact, I hope to have a repeat fairly soon."

"Oh, believe me, there will be plenty more if I have anything to say about it," he chuckled brightly and turned to her, "With your blessings, of course."

"You have more than my blessings," she laughed with him and kissed him up the shoulder and then pecked him on the mouth, "A green light all around. I am going to let you take the reins any time you want them. You will hear no argument from me."

"I have a confession to make," he said after a couple of moments of silence and their hearts stopped racing.

"Oh?" she asked.

"I have been totally smitten with you since the night we met," he said without pause.

"Even as a cricket?" she asked with a smirk and put her chin over one hand on his chest.

"I was a man first," he pointed out and ran his hand through her hair as he looked at her glowing face, "And you were the most beautiful and intelligent woman I had ever met."

"You don't have to keep going," she giggled and patted his chest, "You already got me into bed."

"This was never about sex, Red," he cupped her face in his hands and looked deep into her eyes, "I need you to know that. I missed you. Even as Archie… I felt like something-"

"…was missing," she smiled brighter and nodded to tell him she understood.

"Until you, Red," he stroked a thumb over her cheeks and took a deep breath, "I love you."

"Jiminy…" she sighed and laughed lightly, "You ridiculous, honest, wonderful man."

"So…" he said at length and looked down at her with a quirk of an eyebrow.

"I love you, too," she chuckled happily and pushed herself up to get her face level with his. She kissed him soundly.


	16. Chapter 15: Offers

**Chapter Fifteen****: Offers**

Archie opened his eyes to the blurry sunlight piercing through the window. He reached behind him and put on his glasses to take in the best sight he could ever dream of. Ruby was still sleeping soundly, her hair ruffled around her head like a dark halo and the dark green covers of his bed barely covered her naked form. She had a content, happy smile on her face as she slept. Her body was snuggled up against his and one of her hands laid delicately over his chest. Archie smiled at the sight and pulled her hand to his mouth to press a soft kiss to the back of it.

"Hm," she hummed and pressed herself against him.

"Good morning," he whispered and kissed her hair, "I have to get up and get some things done this morning. I wanted to make sure that you didn't think I ran off when you find me missing later."

"No, you should call in for the day and stay in bed with me," she mumbled into his shoulder and kissed his skin.

"I would love nothing more than to do that," he said with regret and pulled her hand up to his mouth again, "But I have to get something done this morning. I will be back before you know it."

"And then you will stay in bed?" she asked with a sleepy pout.

"Then I will be all yours until you go in to work," he said in a promise.

"I don't have work tonight," she shook her head and smiled deviously, "What about your patients?"

"Not today," he shook his head and sat up to slide out of her reach. She watched him closely as he got some clean clothes and headed toward the bathroom. She closed her eyes and heard his morning routine from her place in his bed. She was thoroughly exhausted even after sleep and smiled at the reason. She blinked lazily when he opened the door and came toward her. He kissed her and whispered, "I will be back soon."

She hummed happily and whispered against his lips, "I love you, Jiminy."

He smiled brightly and chuckled happily, "I love you, too. I will see you when I get home."

"Mm-hm," she nodded as he pulled away.

He walked toward the door as she buried her head into his pillow and surrounded herself with his scent. Archie took one moment before he walked through the bedroom door and saw the perfect picture in his bed. He sighed happily and walked down the hallway. He grabbed his umbrella, checked Pongo's bowl to make sure he still had pellets and walked out of the apartment.

Doctor Archie Hopper walked down the sidewalk with a purposeful stride. He nodded at the people he passed on the street who were at the start of their day. They all nodded or smiled back at him as he passed; many noticed the new bounce to his step. Archie turned down the third street off of Main Street and walked straight into Mister Gold's Pawn shop. Archie slightly jumped at the loud charm of the bell above his head and then took a deep breath after he found what it was.

"Doctor Hopper," Mister Gold greeted as he walked into the main shop from the back with a few items in his hands. He opened the nearest display case and put the trinkets inside, "How can I help you today?"

"Rumplestiltskin," Archie nodded his head toward him and then watched him closely as he paused just slightly before he looked up at Archie, "I need some help."

"Ah," Gold said in a slightly amused tone as he closed the case. He leaned on the counter and gave Archie his best stare, "With what exactly? It seems that you have all you want."

"I want to make sure that I get my happy ending," Archie said and held his umbrella with both hands, "Especially now that the curse is over."

"Something… substantial happened between you and Miss Lucas, I assume," Gold answered and began to walk around his display cases.

"Something like that, yes," Archie nodded.

"No blue fairies this time?" Gold asked and looked at the frustrated face of the psychologist, "I heard that she did a fine job to help you clean up your mess from last time."

"She doesn't have the answers that I need."

"She doesn't know-"

"I don't want to live forever, if that is what you are thinking," Archie said as he interrupted Gold. He moved forward and looked the man in the eyes, "I never did. I just want to live the rest of my life making her happy. You understand that, right?"

"All too well," Gold nodded.

Archie shook his head sadly and looked down as if ashamed, "I can't do that for her if I am a cricket."

Gold paused and looked at the man's desperation and is reminded of his own love. He nodded slowly and then looked at the display case where a single, chipped tea cup sat on a small pillow, "Understood."

"What is the price that I have to pay?" Archie asked with a slight shake of his voice. He was scared, but willing to go to damnation if it meant that Ruby got to be happy.

"Nothing," Gold answered and then shook his head sadly before he took a look up at Archie, "For there is nothing that I can do."

"Nothing you can do?" Archie asked, much more desperate than he meant to, "You are the most powerful magic wielder that I know."

"_Dark_ magic wielder, cricket," he reminded him and shook his head, "When you made that wish, that was all light magic. I have no power to override or change the other side of the spectrum."

"Than what do I do?" Archie asked and stepped back.

"You think of another way," Gold answered with a hopeful smile, "You and our little band of people are good at that."

"I think we are running out of miracles," Archie smiled sadly and shook his head, "I guess I just have to face that challenge if and when it comes about."

"Just as any other," Gold nodded and walked with him toward his door, "Shall Belle be looking forward to Miss Lucas joining her for some company today?"

Archie chuckled dryly and shook his head, "I don't think so. She's going to be a bit… preoccupied today. I promised her that I wouldn't be too long."

"Then don't tally," Gold opened his door, "Besides, that gives me reason to keep Belle company myself."

Archie took pause before he completely walked out of the store. He took a look over the once feared and loathed Dark One and gave him a genuine friendly smile.

"What is that for?" Gold asked and patted at his tie.

"Love is a good color on you, is all," Archie said and turned from the store, "Send my hello to Belle."

"I will," Gold sighed and closed the door after he left. After a few moments, Rumplestiltskin walked over to a small bookcase and pulled out a few large books. Maybe there was something a little more to the light magic.

Again, Archie pounded the cement of Storybrooke's sidewalks, his trusty umbrella tapping on the cement next to him. Despite the bad news, maybe Gold was right. Maybe they just needed another miracle, he needed another miracle. He chuckled a little to himself in thinking of miracles. Ruby was one already. He looked up at the sky, clear blue with a light dab of clouds. There was going to be a beautiful sky tonight. Maybe Ruby would be up to some star watching tonight after dinner.

"A bright smile for someone who was just told there is no answer."

Archie turned to the voice and saw an older woman with a deep purple dress on. She smiled softly and held her black parasol over one shoulder as if to block the sun's bright rays. She took a step toward him and he took a step away, unsure of this new face. His mind raced to find the name that when with it and he shook his head when it fell together.

"Cora…" he mumbled and then swept his eyes around the area for signs of Regina.

"You don't have to worry yourself too much," Cora tried to assure him, "My daughter is not with me this time."

"And why should I believe in anything that you or your daughter may say?" Archie stood at his full height despite the knowledge of her magic.

"Because I have the answer your problem," she said with a wider smile and held out her hand palm up. A wisp of smoke swirled in her hand and made a small sphere with magic lighting it from the inside, "The chance to stay human, just like you would like. So you could be with the woman that you love. Isn't that what you want?"

"It is… more than anything," Archie frowned and shook his head, "But it always comes with a price. I have played this game before, and I paid dearly for not checking before. What is your price?"

"The downfall of Snow White," Cora smiled.

"And you would guarantee Ruby's safety?" he asked quickly with narrowed eyes, "Without her, this wish is for nothing."

"She won't be harmed."

Archie put a hand to his chin as if in contemplation, "The downfall of Snow White…"

"That's all I ask."

"That is never an option," Archie took another step back, "I will pay my own price. My friends are my family and family is never in the price tag."

"So you'd rather be noble and a cricket over being human and with your love?" she squashed the swirling, glowing mist in her hand, "What would she say to that?"

"I assume that she would be proud of me," he said back.

"Pride never brings results," Cora sighed with a short shake of the head as if she was reprimanding a child, "I guess an agreement won't be made."

"Not with me," Archie took a step as if to walk away. When he turned he was frozen in place and looked to his side where Regina stood, her hands glowing brilliantly in purple light. He turned his attention back to Cora and murmured, "I thought you said Regina wasn't with you."

"You were right not to trust me," Cora smiled again and looked at Regina, "I think that it's time that we contact young Snow. We have our pawn."

"No…" Archie shook his head and was about to yell when he met darkness and fell back.

* * *

Mary Margaret and David sat over their finished lunch in the diner and watched as Emma tried to get Hook to sit still in his chair with Gold not too far away in his own booth with Belle. Henry was at the counter and was chatting with Granny about how Red Riding Hood and Jiminy Cricket met back before his own mother was born. The mood was happy and lighter than they knew it should be. David put a hand over hers and squeezed it.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked.

"How it's too quiet," she whispered and looked out the windows to look at the sky, "Too pretty."

"Maybe it's finally time that we can have our vacation."

"When do we ever have a vacation?" she chuckled.

"That's true," he chuckled back and kissed her over her forehead, "I always have hope."

"All mighty!" Granny yelled from behind the counter.

Mary Margaret and David both turned to the counter along with the others around the entire diner. Granny had grabbed a hold of Henry and pushed him back from the now oddly glowing, polished metal above the kitchen window. Emma immediately stood and took Henry from Granny's grasp to push him behind her. There in the reflection was a focusing picture of the original evil witch.

"Cora…" Mary Margaret breathed out and grabbed a tight hold of David's hand which was still in hers.

"Hello Snow, how is your happily ever after treating you?" Cora asked in a sweet tone.

"Leave a witch to her own devices for a while and you will always hear from her," Hook said with a sneer. He turned to Emma who still had Henry behind her, "You may want to take him home."

"I am inclined to agree with the pirate this time, Miss Swan," Gold stood from his booth and tried to block Cora's view of Belle on the other side from where he was sitting.

"Why take him home?" Cora smiled wider and turned her head to the side where Regina stood with a smirk. Then beside her was Archie Hopper tied to a large pole with rope and what looked like duct tape, "We're about to have so much fun."

"Archie!" Henry yelled out and would have stepped forward if Emma wasn't holding on to him. He turned his head to focus his eyes on the picture of the woman who raised him, "Mom, why are you doing this?"

Regina didn't answer and her eyes softened just a little before she turned to Emma, with a wary eye on her mother, "Maybe you _should_ have Henry leave. This isn't going to be good negotiations."

Emma looked over at Mary Margaret and David who both nodded to her and she knew what she had to do.

"Come on, kid," Emma put a hand against his shoulders to steer him out from the diner and toward their home. Hook took the initiative and followed her out as if to watch her back with a quick glare toward Cora. Henry seemed to fight on the way out, but eventually listened to his birth mother.

Mary Margaret looked from the door to the still glowing metal showing them a focused view of the two women and their prisoner, "What negotiations?"

"For Doctor Hopper's release, of course," Cora chuckled as if it was straight forward.

"Where is Ruby?" Granny asked from the side.

"She's safe…" Archie groaned from what looked like the many bruises that he had already sustained and looked toward the older lady, "She's… at home… waiting for me."

"What are the conditions?" David asked and stepped beside his wife. He had shot a look toward Gold who seemed to understand since his hand began to glow dimly with his own magic.

"Easy, they are as they have always been," Regina growled and stepped up, "Death of Snow White and your surrender."

"Give us the power of authority, give us your kingdom and Snow and we will be sure to let you all have at least a life," Cora continued with the demands and pulled at Archie's tie, tightening it around his neck, "Including the dear, good doctor here."

"You know I will not let you kill my wife," David growled, "Without her, I have no life."

"We could always kill you too," Cora nodded as if it wasn't a problem.

"You all know that you can't even consider this…" Archie said from behind the two witches. He struggled with breath and shook his head as he closed his eyes. Ruby's smiling face danced behind his lids and he found his strength once again, as he always did with her, "… we may not all get our happy endings… but at least with you, everyone has a chance. Including Red…"

"Archie…" Mary Margaret moved forward to take a better look at her long time friend and counselor, "You can't be saying that we-"

"If it means that you stay alive, your highness," Archie said quickly to stop her from going any further. He nodded his head with a sad, yet knowing smile on his features, "I would gladly give up my life to make sure that they didn't take yours. You are the hope. You and Emma. The hope for everyone. The hope for Red…"

"I have to agree," David whispered and turned her face toward his, "I was lost without you. Don't let me and everyone go through that again."

"But this is _Archie_…" Mary Margret turned toward the man hanging against the pole, weak, beaten, yet brave and steadfast in his loyalty, "We can't just leave him."

"I am asking you to," Archie said in a firm voice and closed his eyes to stop seeing their faces and keep the one that mattered the most in his mind, "We can't let them win. Good will win in the end, I know. I have faith."

Mary Margaret could only shake her head at his act.

"Tell her that I'm sorry," he said softly and gave a heartbreaking smile, "Tell her I love her."

A silence had settled over the diner and Belle had scooted out of the booth and put her hand against Gold's jacket as if to ask him to help. He shook his head and showed her his hand was already glowing. He was already trying and couldn't do anything for the man in the hands of two witches.

"Can't you help him?" she whispered so low, she barely heard herself.

"I am trying to do just that," Gold whispered back and his hand flicked in movements as if trying to unlock a safe, "Working together they have built one another up. It will take more time."

"That's something I don't think we have," she looked back with a shake of her head in disbelief.

"It seems like they have made their decision," Regina stood back with her arms crossed over her chest, "I am surprised. I thought that you would do anything for your subjects."

"Don't you dare question my love for my subjects!" Mary Margaret yelled back with tears in her eyes.

"Well, if a choice has been made, there is no use for pawns, are there?" Cora sighed and quickly made a ball of black magic and immediately threw it straight at Archie. In a rain of sparks and smoke he disappeared from view and the rope and duct tape fell from the pole, charred and useless.

"ARCHIE!" Mary Margaret screamed and nearly ran toward the mirrored surface before David caught her, "No!"

"No… no!" Belle cried from her spot near Gold.

Gold yelled out and shook his hand as it burnt from the back lash of magic. He wasn't quick enough. He looked at his hand as it seemed to simmer with heat and what smelled like burned flesh. He looked at David and shook his head in a slow negative.

"What have you done?" David asked the two witches.

"We gave you what you decided," Regina answered and gave them a hateful smirk, "What he asked for. We will tear this town apart, one by one if we have to, but we will get what we want. Snow White will die."

After that last declaration the metal went back to being just metal and the two witches were gone.

Mary Margaret collapsed in David's arms and cried into his shirt as he hugged her tightly against him. Belle fell against Gold who held her with his good had as he tried to self heal his other. Granny collapsed in the nearest booth and shook her head in the events. Ruby was going to be heart broken… Ruby.

"Ruby," Granny said softly and looked to Mary Margaret who just picked up her head from David's shoulder.

"She… doesn't know," Belle said softly with tears still falling down her face.

Mary Margaret turned to her husband, "I have to go tell her."

"I will go with you," Belle said and pushed herself from Gold who nodded in understanding.

Granny stood as well and held a hand to the couple on her floor, "I think she will need all of us for this."

"This is Peter all over again," Mary Margaret said in a sad voice when she joined Granny and Belle.

"No, this is worse," Granny shook her head, "This was Archie."

"We will come with you," David said and looked back at Gold.

"No, we don't want to overwhelm her, it will be bad enough," Mary Margaret held out her hand to stop the two men.

"There are two witches out there baying for your blood," David pointed out.

"And they both know how to defend themselves," Granny said and reached around the counter to get the cross bow from behind it, "And I always have my own talents."

"We have others to alert and help in our defense," Gold mentioned and put a hand to David's shoulder, "We must tell Emma and help her with young Henry. I don't think that the pirate will be much help in that."

"You have a point," David nodded and quickly gave Mary Margaret a kiss, "Be careful."

"I will come home," she smiled sadly and turned to Granny and Belle, "Let's go."

"I will say this," Gold mumbled and shook out his now healed hand, "I believe that we have the less difficult task."

"You have no idea," David shook his head and turned to him, "Any ideas on defense?"

"A few," Gold nodded and followed him out the door.


	17. Chapter 16:Lost

**Chapter Sixteen****: Lost**

Ruby woke up later in the morning, or what she would find to be early afternoon. She stretched and felt another presence against her back. Archie hadn't come back, she would have heard him- or at least smelt him come in the door. She turned over and opened her eyes to see Pongo lying on his side against her. When he noticed that she was awake his tail began to wag against the sheets, thumping against the linens. She giggled a little and ruffled the top of the dog's head between his ears.

"Good morning, good boy," she greeted and then leaned over to kiss the dog on the top of his nose, "Archie not home, yet?"

Pongo whined a little and then huffed as he laid his head back down.

"Yeah, I know that feeling," she pulled herself into a sitting position and padded over to the bathroom to take a shower. She cleaned up quickly and let her hair air dry over one of Archie's shirts and a pair of her short jogging shorts. She patted the side of her leg at Pongo, "Come on, Pongo. I think I may have some vanilla wafers tucked away somewhere for you."

At the mention of his favorite treat, the dog was up and at her heels all the way down the hallway. She chuckled warmly at the canine and brought the treats down from the top cupboard to give to him. She checked his bowl that was still half full and smiled. Now to start on her and Archie's breakfast. She warmed up the skillet and shrugged, "Who cares that it is one in the afternoon? I make some rocking pancakes and eggs with bacon."

Pongo barked lightly in agreement.

"Thank you for the compliment," she smiled down at him and started to get things mixed up in the different bowls before they went on the stove. She began to hum and sing out a few verses of a couple of songs as she cooked. She had contemplated turning on the radio, but decided against it. She had a great playlist in her head at the moment, anyway.

As she pulled off the last two pancakes from the stove she heard the front door knocked. Pongo bounded over to the door to wag his tail and bark at the wood. She licked some syrup from her fingers and turned off the stove. She smiled big and nearly ran over to the door.

"Forget your keys, love bug?" she asked as she opened the door and was surprised when she was met with Mary Margaret, Belle and her Gran at the front door. She blushed a little at what she was wearing and leaned against the door at the three women, "Definitely not who I was thinking it was… sorry."

"Ruby…" Mary Margaret started and made Ruby look up at her face. It was then that she noticed the three of their faces were streaked with tears or were sporting red eyes.

"What happened?" she asked and ushered them all inside thinking that something had happened to David or Henry.

Granny shut the door behind them and shooed Pongo to the side of the room she he would be out of the way and set down her crossbow. Mary Margret held both of Ruby's hands in hers as Belle put her hands on Ruby's shoulders from behind her, just in case she would fall back. Ruby's eyes bounced between her two best friends and her grandmother still so quiet.

"Okay, what is going on?" Ruby asked and eyed them all, "You're starting to scare me."

"Ruby…" Mary Margaret tried again and took a deep breath, "It's Archie…"

"What about Archie?" Ruby tried to smile as if expecting him to come through the door at any moment.

"He's gone."

"Yeah, but he'll be back soon," Ruby chuckled lightly and tried to push off Belle's hands from her shoulders, "We are going to have breakfast when he gets back from his errands this morning. Just taking him a bit longer than I thought it would… He's going to be back… any time…"

As she was explaining it Mary Margaret kept shaking her head and squeezing her friend's hands, "You don't understand. He's gone."

Ruby stayed silent for a few moments as the small sentence began to seep into her mind. She smiled a little and then it fell from her face as her friend's eyes began to water again, "You… you can't be right. He… he's fine."

"Cora and Regina caught him walking around earlier and tried to use him to make us surrender," Mary Margaret explained and tried to lead a now immobile Ruby toward the couch, "His life for my death."

"I don't understand," Ruby shook her head and flicked her eyes from Belle to the floor to Mary Margaret, "He would never agree to those terms. He would rather…"

As her voice drifted off Mary Margaret's tears began to fall and she nodded her head sadly, "And he didn't agree. Neither could we."

Ruby's voice stuck in her throat and the room around her began to spin out of control. She shook her head and reached her hands out for her friends' support, "No…no, no, no, no…"

"Ruby, you need to breath," Belle reminded her from her right side.

"No, you have to be wrong," Ruby shook her head and let her friends lead her to the couch, "Archie is- is more careful than that. He wouldn't- he couldn't…"

"We saw it," Mary Margaret tried to talk to her back to reality, "I am so sorry, Red."

"No!" she yelled and nearly threw the coffee table out in front of her. She began to pace the living room with tears gathering in her eyes, blinding her to everything. She shook her head and wrapped her arms around herself and rubbed at her arms, "You're wrong. He's going to come home. He's coming through that door any time now. He's fine, he's fine, he's fine…"

"Red, stop it!" Mary Margaret shouted from the couch.

"No!" Ruby snarled and felt the wolf in her try to dig to the surface. It was in pain just like the rest of her. It wanted out. It wanted to rip the two women to pieces, the two who took him away. She closed her eyes as tears ran down either side of her face, "He's okay, he's fine, he's-"

"Red!" two strong arms gripped her arms and stopped her in her frantic pacing. She stopped and tried to breath, but only came out in sobbing gulps. The two hands shook her and she opened her eyes to see a glossy version of her Granny in front of her. Granny took a deep breath and looked her granddaughter in the eyes, "We all saw it, child. I am sorry, but Archie is gone. Jiminy is gone."

All delusions that she was hoping to entertain were crushed under her grandmother's words. She could shove off Belle's words, even Mary Margaret's if she needed to. However, when it came to Granny, she couldn't brush her off. Her words were true. Sometimes not wanted to be heard, but true all the same. It was when they were finally through that Ruby collapsed. She fell into her Granny's arms and cried loudly into her old shirt.

"That's it, dear," Granny soothed her as she spoke into her hair, "Let it out. We're here. Let it out."

That whole and perfect feeling from the night before fell away- the piece that had slid into place when he was with her burst into ash and the hole felt so much bigger than before. The feeling of being loved unconditionally and being cared for as a friend, a partner, and lover all in one will not be found again. He was her life mate, and now he was gone.

"Nooo!" Ruby yelled out into the living room and grabbed handfuls of Granny's shirt. She sobbed loudly into her grandmother's chest and dragged them both to the floor of the living room. Granny only stroked her hair and rocked with her back and forth and she tried to comfort in the only way she knew how. Soon she felt Ruby fall into a fitful sleep, tired out by her own tears.

A few feet away a new lover's breakfast grew cold on the kitchen counter.

* * *

Archie felt the black start to dissipate around him and he could open his eyes. His head felt light and heavy all at the same time and he tried to blink to clear it. He was sure that he was dead. He had to be. Why would they keep him alive, especially after all of that?

"Finally coming to, huh?" Regina smiled down at the prisoner.

"You… you let me live," he shook his head and tried to open his eyes again. As he did he looked up at where her voice was coming from and fell back in surprise. Before him and outside his bars was a giant Regina with a proud smile spread over her lips. Cora stood to her side and looked down at him as if he was a new pet.

"Well, in a manner of speaking, yes," Regina's smile spread wider.

Archie looked down at his hands then at his body and found green. All green. No longer Archie Hopper. He was Jiminy Cricket once again.

"You didn't kill me," he shook his head and looked up at the two women.

"Oh, but we did," Cora nodded with a smile, "Don't you see? Archie Hopper, the doctor and _human_ is dead."

"You took away my humanity," he realized and sat back on the floor of the small cage.

"Exactly," Regina nodded, "I always loved to hear crickets sing. As I am sure that you will."

"I am not going to do anything of the sort!" Jiminy shouted and grabbed at the bars closest to them, "Human or not, I am no deceiver or betrayer!"

"Not even for the woman you love?" Cora asked nonchalantly.

"You have Red?" he gasped and gripped the bars tighter.

"No, but let's just say that she will come in time," Cora brushed her hand over a large mirror and let him look in. There in the mirror Ruby's agonized face yelled out into the air as she gripped at Granny. Tears flowed down her face and her face grimaced as if she was experiencing the worst pain imaginable.

"Red…"

"How long will you think it will take her to come get her vengeance?" Regina asked him.

"Leave her out of this," Jiminy tried to narrow his eyes at her, but couldn't quite get the face right now in cricket form.

"Too late," Regina shrugged.

"And we always could just kill you and get the information from her," Cora said as she gained center stage, "I always did enjoy torturing the women the best. They crumbled much faster than the men in my care."

"I won't let you…"

"What can you do?" Regina leaned toward the cage, "You're nothing."

"Let's get some silver together," Cora smiled at her daughter, "I don't know much about shape shifters as I would like."

"Let's review then," Regina nodded and turned her mother toward one of her large bookcases.

Jiminy shook his head and looked around his small cage. His trusty umbrella was nearby and he thought it was strange that of all things, that would shrink with him. He took it in his hands and looked at the small wooden cage. It was much like one that he had as a boy when he still traveled with his parents. He turned to the side where he knew the door was and ran his cricket hands over the crease for the sliding door. It was heavy for him now. Maybe a little too heavy.

He looked over his shoulder at the two of the women looking through the few books around them. Maybe the door was a little heavy for just the cricket, but not for the man inside. Jiminy hooked his umbrella under the edge of the crease and began to use the leverage of the umbrella and floor of the cage. He pushed and made sure that the two women weren't catching on. With a surge of energy from deep within he pushed and the door slid up from its position. He felt his mandibles move into what he hoped was a smile and he caught the edge with his hands and began to push up just enough to get out. He pushed his head and then his thorax and wings out. He clutched at the cage from the outside as his feet slipped free. And then with a last tug, he grabbed his umbrella out from the gap, making the door slid down with a click.

Regina looked at the cage and saw Jiminy on the outside, "Not today!"

She threw a fireball at the small cage and Jiminy leapt off and flew toward the ceiling. He felt the blast of another fireball warm his back legs and he pushed his wings to fly him faster. Cora shook her head and pushed her daughter to the side.

"I told you, we should have squashed him when we had the chance," she tutted and formed a spell of dark magic to throw at the cricket, "You aren't getting out of here, insect."

Jiminy looked back at the woman who just released a magic ball at him. He turned and noticed the spell followed him. He took a deep breath and saw a small crack in the wall where he could fly through, if only the magic wasn't catching up to him. He turned in time to see the magic too close. He wasn't going to make it. He opened his umbrella at the last moment as if it would do anything, a reflex he supposed. As the magic hit the umbrella, it actually pushed him back and through the crack and to the outside air. The magic dissipated around his umbrella and he landed hard on a grass lawn. He took a deep breath and looked around. He was in the graveyard. He patted himself down. He was alive. A look at his untouched umbrella gave him the answer.

"More than just an umbrella, aren't you?" he asked the item.

"I told you, didn't I?"

Jiminy crawled closer to the crack and heard the two women talk to one another.

"You were right, is that what you want to hear?" Regina asked and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Thank you," Cora nodded, "Now that we don't have to worry about the pest, let's get ready for his love's vengeance, shall we?"

Jiminy pushed himself back from the crack and looked up at the early evening sky, "Red…"

In that moment, he gripped his umbrella in his hands and then took off into the air, careful of the many owls and animals that would consider him a great snack.

* * *

Ruby's head laid securely in Granny's lap on the couch. She smelt the warm fragrance of her favorite tea wafting through the air and she opened her eyes to see that Mary Margaret and Belle were still there. Granny's hand still stroked over her hair, but stopped and she pushed some of the hair from Ruby's face.

"Finally awake?" she asked softly and pushed one of the cups on the table toward her, "Drink some. It will help."

"I don't want it to help," Ruby said softly as to not alert her two other friends, "I want Jiminy back."

"We all do, dear," Granny whispered sadly and began to pet her head again.

"No, not like me," she sat up and alerted Mary Margaret and Belle. She shook her head at the both of them and then turned back to Granny, "Why is it that everyone that I love dies? Is there another curse along with the wolf? What is wrong with me?"

Mary Margaret sighed and took a step toward her friend, "Red-"

"Don't call me that!" she snarled with tears already coming to her eyes. Mary Margaret put a hand to her own mouth and furrowed her brows. Ruby shook her head, "He called me that even here… Don't call me that."

Mary Margaret looked away.

"There is no curse on you," Granny mentioned and tried to focus her granddaughter's attention on her, "Regina knew that this would be the first step to tear us apart."

"I will never love again," Ruby said softly.

"That's not true," Belle shook her head.

"It is! You don't understand," she looked at her friends and then back at her Granny, "We became mates last night, Gran."

Granny took a startled breath in and her face shifted to that of true loss and pain.

"Now you understand," Ruby said sadly and pushed herself from the couch. She looked at her friends and then at Granny before she began to walk toward the hallway, "I will never love again."

"Ruby, please," Belle held out a hand toward her friend, who shifted away from it.

"I want to get some more sleep," Ruby said softly and looked at Pongo who immediately followed her.

Granny stopped the other two girls from following and pulled them back, "I will check on you later, dear."

Ruby walked into the bedroom and shut the door after Pongo followed her in.

"Why are we letting her be on her own?" Belle asked, "This is not the time for her to be alone!"

"She won't be, I will be here," Granny nodded to comfort them, "You both have got to understand from a wolf's perspective. Ruby and Archie mated last night."

"Okay," Mary Margaret nodded and waited for the rest of the explanation.

"They made love," Belle nodded and added to move it along.

"It's more than just that," Granny frowned and shook her head, "Ruby had her times of lust under the curse, but she never gave herself to any of them. Not like she had to Archie. Wolves mate for life. Once they and their partner agree to the mating, they will never search out another mate. Even after the death of the other. She will never seek another man out."

"Ruby…" Mary Margaret frowned and shook her head for her adopted sister. Her heart broke for her.

"You two go home to your men," Granny pushed them toward the door, "I will keep an eye on her."

"Keep us updated," Belle reminded her as she was pushed out the door.

As Granny closed the door after they were out, Belle turned to Mary Margaret. She held out an arm for Belle to wrap her own around and the two of them walked down the street toward home. Worried and sorrow filled for their best friend.


	18. Chapter 17: Found

**Chapter Seventeen**:** Found**

Ruby laid out on Archie's bed and wrapped herself in his sheets, pillows and blankets. They still had his scent imbedded in them along with the shirt she was still wearing. Pongo sensed there was something very wrong and curled up against his mistress. Her arm wrapped around the dog and she cried into his coat. The dog laid his head around the top of hers in his own way being the only comfort she could count on. Pongo didn't whine, didn't ask if she was alright and didn't try to talk her out of her tears. He was there for her and waited until she was ready to get up.

"You're a good boy," she sniffled into his coat.

Pongo lifted his head only slightly to lick across her face and took some of her tears with his tongue. She smiled and laid back down as he followed. Her hand danced lightly over his coat in an unheard rhythm. She was trying to give him some comfort as well.

A light knock resonated on the bedroom door and she cringed and shut her eyes against the noise. Pongo felt the shift and growled at the door. Ruby smiled slightly at his protection of her and how she felt.

"I don't want to talk," Ruby said to the door, "I don't want to share, I don't want to feel. I just want to be left alone."

"And that's the last thing you need," Granny said as she walked in with a small tray of food and a hot cup of tea, "You need to eat something."

"I am not hungry," Ruby muttered as Pongo smelled at the plate, "Give it to Pongo."

"I did not cook dog food. I cooked it for you."

"I don't want it."

"Ruby Lucus," Granny said in a stiff tone, "This is not going to help anything."

"Help?" Ruby shook her head against the pillow, "I am far past help as is he. All I want to be right now is to be surrounded by him as long as his scent will last. Because when that fades… what is left that I can hold?"

Granny took a deep breath and let out a frustrated sigh, "I am sorry."

"I expect that I am going to hear that a lot in the upcoming days," Ruby assumed and shook her head. She thought to herself for a moment and looked toward the window where she could see the almost full moon, "You were right."

"About what?" Granny asked and set the tray to the side of the bed.

"The wolf loved him too," Ruby said with her eyes trained on the moon, "Just as much as I did."

"Ruby, I am telling you now, you cannot go after them."

"And why not?" Ruby sat up, "Wolf's time would be the right time. Let them see a true monster- a monster that they made and unleashed."

"They will expect you and then kill you. Do you want that?" Granny asked. When Ruby looked down and didn't have an answer her grandmother shook her head, "Would _he_ want that?"

"He didn't want to die," she said softly and put a hand to her heart, "He loved me. There has never been anyone that has ever told me that they loved me, except Peter. Archie told me and I knew it. I _felt_ it…"

Granny watched her as her face fell.

"You know what I feel now?" Ruby paused and put her flat palm over her chest, "There's nothing there. He was that piece that I have always missed. And now that he is gone, it is a much bigger hole that can never be filled."

Granny put a hand over one of hers which she pulled away from.

"Is that what he would want? No, I know it isn't," Ruby answered and laid back down, "But I would gladly go down fighting against those who took him away and meet him on the other side then to just lay here and wait for their next move to take some else away from me."

"I won't let you do that," Granny whispered and earned a glare from Ruby, "Glare at me all you want, I will not let my granddaughter waste her life in a fairly small rush for vengeance that will not work. You will die!"

"It's my life!" Ruby warned her with a growl, "And I will not let them just extinguish his without some kind of retribution."

"Ruby-"

"He was my mate! The only man I loved with everything that I had!" tears were now making their way down her cheeks for the third time that day, "Yes, I loved Peter, but not like this. You know that he loved me from the moment we met out on that road? We have missed so much… And they will pay."

"You cannot do this."

"Watch me," she growled and hugged the blanket closer.

"I will not allow it."

"Get out," Ruby said defiantly and turned on her other side. When she didn't hear or feel Granny move she roared, "GET OUT!"

Pongo jumped a little at her voice, but then settled again against her at her gentle pet.

"I love you, Ruby," Granny said as she stood up, "And so do others. Don't take away another person that we love… just think about it."

Ruby heard her make her way down the hallway and then out the front door. Ruby knew that she would be back soon. She needed time to calm down and think. Pongo shifted closer to her to bring some more warmth back to her cold body. She felt the wolf in her curl back against the dog in front of her. It was something that she knew and understood- the need to comfort and be comforted. Even the monster inside her needed that.

The slight breeze from the evening filtered in through the small crack in the window. She felt it on her face and over the tear tracks that were glued to her face. She closed her eyes against the breeze and felt her mind fall into sleep.

"I will avenge you, Jiminy," she whispered.

She felt Pongo suddenly move from her and toward the window if she heard the noise of his collar correctly. He growled just lightly and then she heard a shush at which Pongo listened to. Her eyelids so heavy, she didn't open them. She didn't smell an intruder and felt that she was safe. At least for the moment.

"Red…"

Her breath hitched at his voice as it floated through her mind and she could see his face behind her closed eyes. She saw him and she felt a smile come to her face and a sob escape her throat. She reached out her hands, but couldn't find anything to latch on to. The dream version of him always seemed to be just out of her reach. Her fingers spread toward him, but his phantom shook his head at her.

"I don't care if you aren't real…" she said softly and half asleep, "Don't leave."

"I am not going anywhere," he said softly and looked at her just as he had the night before.

"Why did they take you from me?" she asked with a bit of a growl.

"Red, you can't go after them," he said softly and his voice drew closer, "They are expecting you and they will kill you. I won't lose you."

"I have already lost you," Ruby reminded him, "It's not fair. I want you back."

He chuckled a bit sadly and she felt something land softly on her face, "Open your eyes… I am back. You will never lose me."

Ruby gently opened her eyes and the picture of the man she loved disappeared to show her the image of a finely dressed cricket with an umbrella in his hands. He looked exactly like he had the moment that they had met, albeit a bit drier. His wings fluttered quietly behind him as he stood as tall as he could with his umbrella behind his back. She blinked a few times and her eyebrows furrowed in thought.

"Why did my subconscious make you a cricket?" she asked softly, still believing the ordeal to be a dream.

He leaned closer and tried to run a hand over her cheek, but it became a bit difficult at his size, "Because that's what I am. I can't change it now."

"I don't understand," she shook her head, "You aren't real, I can make you be whatever I want you to be."

"You aren't dreaming, Red," he walked closer to her and put pressure against her top lip, "I am real. I came home."

Ruby's mind seemed to process that slower than usual and then she popped up. He jumped back and then floated in the air with the help of his wings. Ruby backed up against the headboard and pushed her back against it.

"Snow and Belle and Gran… they all saw you die," she said in a rush, still not quite believing what she saw.

"They saw Cora throw a spell at me and I disappeared," he corrected and landed on the bed to the side of her legs. He motioned to himself, "This is what she actually did."

"But… but… you…" she shook her head, "I can't take this! They told me you were dead!"

"I thought I was for a while," he shrugged his long arms, "I came back."

"How?"

"I got out and escaped," he rubbed at his umbrella and looked back up at her, "Please, Red. I know this is hard to take. But it _is_ me."

"I…I…"

Pongo suddenly jumped up on the bed and lowered his head toward the insect that inexplicably was talking to his mistress. He titled his head to the side in inquisitive nature.

"Hey boy," the cricket spoke and held out his arms toward the dog.

Pongo sniffed at the cricket and laid in front of it as his tail began to wag fiercely. He sniffed again and laid his head in front of his master. His tail still wiping against the bedding as the talking cricket rubbed at the fur just above his nose.

Ruby watched the scene in front of her unfold and she slowly leaned down to lay on her stomach. She came close to him and took a long sniff of him as her wolf instincts told her to do so. There in the scent pattern she smelled oak, something dusty, but homey and something so, so…

"Jiminy…" she whispered out and he let go of the breath that he was holding.

"Hello again, Red," he said and tilted his head to the side in what she remembered was as close to a smile as she could get from him in the old world, "I almost thought that- Whoa!"

Suddenly she was sitting up again and grabbed him in both hands. She nearly crushed him as she pulled him against her chest and she laughed and cried against her cupped hands. She held him away just slightly and then looked at him again.

"Sorry, love bug," she said with a large smile, her tears shining in her eyes, "I didn't mean to almost squash you."

"Yeah," he nodded and tried to get his balance from the quick movements that she pulled on him. He steadied himself on one of her fingers and looked up at her, "I'm okay."

"What happened?" she immediately asked and kept him in her hands. If she couldn't wrap him in her arms, at least she would hold him any way that she could.

"I went to talk with Gold and on my way back, Cora offered me a deal that I refused-"

"Naturally," Ruby nodded in understanding.

"Cora and Regina then captured me and beat me into near oblivion to get any information out of me. When I didn't talk, they tied me up to a pole and set up a show."

"A show?"

"They found Snow and James and all the others at Granny's," he explained, "After I refused to trade my life for Snow's, Cora threw a spell at me. Just as I said before, it turned me into my present state, and not killing me as so many others thought that it had."

"She turned you back into a cricket?" Ruby asked and tilted her head in confusion.

"A form that she knew I was trying to avoid," he shrugged again and then looked up into her face, "Because I wanted to stay with you."

"Oh, Jiminy," she shook her head at him and smiled softly, "When will you ever learn?"

"Apparently not fast enough."

Ruby shook her head and then took one of her hands from under him to point at him, "And I am very disappointed with you."

"About what?"

"Risking your life like that," she frowned and shook her head, "You know how devastated I was to know that the last man that I was ever going to love was gone? I had everything that I ever wanted and then… it was gone. Everything was gone. Don't do that to me again!"

He chuckled warmly at her chastising, "And here I thought that you would be proud of me."

"A part of me is," she admitted.

"… but, Red…" he said quietly, but her ears still picked it up, "I am a cricket. You still want me?"

She pulled her hand closer to her face and smiled back at him with a small chuckle, "Don't be silly. Of course, I still want you. I love you."

"Red," he hugged one of her fingers and sighed sadly, "I wish I could still hold you."

"Me too, love bug," she sighed with him, but then smiled, "But I have you back. That's more than I could ever hope for. A few moments ago, I thought that I would never have you again. Cricket or human. I will take what I can get."

"You shouldn't have to settle," he mumbled, "You deserve better than that."

"I don't deserve anything more than having the man that I love," she leaned closer, "And that is you."

"I am indeed a lucky man," he nodded and looked over her attire, "I do love it when you are in one of my shirts."

She giggled and pulled at the collar, "I guess I can wear whichever one I want to now."

"Even my good ones," he nodded and wrung his hands over his umbrella, "…I wanted to marry you, Red."

"We can still do that," she said happily and breathless at the would-be proposal, "You and I are mates and as such in my eyes already took that leap. A piece of paper isn't going to deter me any."

"You can't marry a cricket in Maine… or anywhere else for that matter," he said as he thought.

"Then we will do it privately," she shrugged and made him lose his balance a little. She stuck her head up in proud defiance, "I have vowed until death, Jiminy. I am keeping to that. And you can't talk me out of it."

"I am definitely a lucky man," he reiterated and she looked down at him in her hand, "You know what I am really going to miss?"

"What's that?" she asked and laid back against the headboard.

"Kissing you."

She smiled softly and pulled her hand to her face, "We'll, I don't know about you, but I am going to kiss my mate. Like it or not, species be damned."

"Red-"

With that she pushed her face forward with her eyes closed and kissed his head, where she assumed his face would still be. She felt that same spark from the first kiss she ever gave him. It was still there, he was still there. He still loved her and she would never change her feelings for him, even if she had a choice. He was back and she couldn't be happier.

The spark from their kiss seemed to ripple out from them and warmth flowed over her body. Maybe it was the relief of him being back or the fact that he was still there, whatever it was, felt so good. The warmth turned into a familiar weight on her body and suddenly her arms were wrapped around a strong neck and shoulders; her lips matched the pace of another soft pair that she remembered well. Her eyes flew open and found a stunned, human Jiminy Cricket straddling her hips. One hand gripped the side of the bed as he kept his balance, while the other one still gripped his umbrella.

Ruby stared up with wide eyes and quick breath. Her face slip into a grin, "What happened?"

"I don't know," he looked at his human hands and blinked as his eyes couldn't adjust without his glasses. Ruby reached into the bedside table where a second pair was hidden and shoved them on his face. He blinked again and looked down at her under him. His face went from surprise to glee, "I don't know, but whatever it is, I will not question it."

"Ditto," Ruby chuckled and pulled his face back down to hers. Their lips melded together and pulled at one another, shifting for dominance. As she kissed him and peppered his face with kisses he chuckled and held her tight against him. She stopped briefly and looked at him in the eyes, "So, the next time I ask you to stay in bed…"

"I am not leaving," he nodded in understanding and they both laughed.

Suddenly a black and white streak pushed Archie off of Ruby and tackled him to the floor. Pongo barked happily as his master finally returned and made his mistress happy. He licked at Archie's face and wagged his tail in the air. He pranced all over and around a laughing Archie as he welcomed him home. Ruby couldn't help but laugh at the scene before her.

"Good to be home, boy," Archie sputtered from the dog's onslaught.

"Okay, Pongo," Ruby hopped down from the bed and pulled Archie back to his feet. She wrapped her arms around him and put her head to his chest to feel his heart beat under her ear. A large breath of relief later she looked up at him, "I think you owe me a day in bed."

"I do," he nodded with a smile and looked at the door as Pongo's head turned that way, "Expecting company?"

"Oh, Granny is probably coming to check on me," she nodded and began to walk out the door.

"I think that it's my home, I should probably greet her," Archie said and walked out the door and out into the hallway, "Hello, Granny."

"Ar- Archie!"

A large thud later Ruby came out to the front room to find Archie over her grandmother with smelling salts.

"Sorry, I was dead just a moment ago, wasn't I?"

Ruby smiled with a shake of her head, "Well, the sooner we get her up, the sooner I get you into bed. Up and at 'em, Gran."


	19. Chapter 18: Surprise

**Chapter Eighteen****: Surprise**

Granny had come to fairly quickly with the help of the smelling salts. Ruby and Archie got her on the couch immediately after that. She held her head with one hand as her eyes were glued to the man in front of her that she believed to be dead. She _saw_ him killed!

"I-I am sorry, Archie," she finally spoke after a long silence and shook her head at him. He was behind the kitchen counter with a few mugs laid out for some calming chamomile tea, "… but I saw you die."

"You saw a spell cast in my direction and I promptly disappeared," Archie explained as he rounded the counter and handed her one of the three mugs. He then quickly took the large arm chair to the side of his couch to continue, "I wouldn't doubt that you would think the worst- I thought the worse myself. Especially after I told the Charmings to have me killed instead of Snow."

"Which I am still a little miffed at you for," Ruby reminded him and sat in his lap with her own mug in her hands. He gave her an apologetic smile and wrapped his free arm around her as his other hand held his mug. Granny noticed that he had done it without thought, as if he had been doing it for years, a second nature.

"I promise that I won't going risking my life without due cause again," he offered.

"I'd much rather you not risk it at all," Ruby looked at him pointedly and took a sip of her tea.

"I am not promising anything that I cannot keep," Archie threw back at her.

"What happened?" Granny asked and pulled the two out of their little spat, if she could even call it that with how much they were smiling at one another.

"Cora turned me back into a cricket," Archie supplied quickly, "And then tried to use me to get Red to come and get revenge. Then get whatever information they could from her before killing her and me. I, on the other hand, have a great familiarity with cricket cages and was able to escape."

"And they didn't come after you?"

"I think that they believe that they have killed me," he said with a smart smirk, "Cora threw a very potent spell at me- threw me out of the crypt that they are hiding in. It's a miracle that I survived."

"But we can use it to our advantage," Ruby said as she looked into the mug in front of her and then to her Granny, "I think one last war table is needed."

"I think you are right," Granny nodded with a sure smile, "… how are you human again, Archie?"

"I don't know," he shook his head and then looked at Ruby, "One kiss from this one and I am back in a button down shirt and sans my wings."

The older woman took a few more sips of her tea and stood up from the couch. She looked over the two, comfortable in one another's presence and nearly fusing into one another. Definitely mates, an acknowledgement of belonging to one another. Granny smiled at them and nodded her head, "I don't think I am needed for the rest of the night. I am going to head back home and invite everyone over for lunch. Do you think you will be able to be ready at that point, Ruby?"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," she said back with a wicked grin.

"See you two tomorrow then," she nodded and headed for the door.

Ruby grinned up at Archie and then nearly skipped to her grandmother, "Gran?"

"Yes, dear?"

Ruby wrapped the woman up in her arms and squeezed tightly, "Thank you. I love you."

"I love you too," she smiled into her granddaughter's shoulder and then leaned back, "Don't tire him out too much. It's not every day that you die and turn from animal back to human."

"I give no promises," she answered. Both women looked back at Archie who was collecting the mugs he had just handed out. They laughed lightly with one another and then Granny walked out the door. Ruby watched her walk down the street until the woman turned the corner toward the Bed and Breakfast.

"Should I even ask what you two were laughing about over here?" Archie asked as he wrapped his arms around her waist and put his chin on her shoulder. He kissed the underside of her jaw with a smile on his lips.

"Just about how I am going to rock your world tonight," she said back and reached her hand up to run through his hair.

He suddenly stopped and she turned her head to look back at him. He had a slightly furrowed brow as if trying to figure out if she was serious or not, "I would really appreciate it if you didn't talk to Granny about our bedroom habits."

Ruby paused for a moment and then burst out laughing as she closed and locked the door. Her grin reached ear to ear and turned in his arms. She cupped his face between both her hands and brought his lips down to hers. She kissed him soundly and then stepped back in attempt to have him follow her. He did without a verbal request and his hand found hers as she led him back to the bedroom. The door clicked shut behind them and Pongo huffed by his dinner bowl.

He looked at the large piece of meat in his bowl and licked his chops. At least his mistress was feeling generous. If she was going to take his master for the night again, she left him a large reward in the bowl.

* * *

As soon as they were in the sanctuary of his room again, Ruby smashed her hand over the light switch and the light cut out. The room was thrown into darkness and Archie didn't know where to look, as it was all bathed in splotchy black and the blinds were closed.

"Red…?"

"Did you know that there are other affects on me when the full moon is just around the corner?" Ruby asked from a few steps away.

Archie turned his head in that direction and then turned it again to the other side when he heard her feet pad over his carpet, "I am thinking a higher need to hunt is listed toward the top."

"Yeah," she chuckled low and he could feel her breath on the back and side of his neck. He knew that he had answered right from her close proximity, "But I have already bagged you. Best prey I have ever caught- most challenging too. There is something else, though…"

"…uh," he faltered when he felt her breath leave his neck and she was lost in the darkness again. He stumbled back and hit his legs on the back of his own bed. He fell back and in an instant she was over him and straddling his hips. He swallowed loudly as her hands went to his shirt and began to unbutton it from the top down, "This hardly seems fair, Red. I can't see in the dark like you can."

"That's what makes it so delightful for me," she said with a smile to her voice. She leaned over and kissed him soundly on the lips. After too brief of a moment she pulled back and looked at the slightly confused doctor, "Well?"

"Well?" Archie mirrored her question with a blank face.

"What else…?" she reminded him and laid with her full body against his.

"…Um," he looked toward what he thought was the ceiling and closed his eyes as she pushed her pelvis into his, "The need to mate."

"Bingo," she whispered and began to lick and nip at his neck and pulse point.

"Oh… Gah, Red," he mumbled and his hands went straight into her hair. His fingers tangled in the silk strands. He pulled her face up to his and began to kiss and bite at her lips as if drinking her in.

Her hands, meanwhile, were continuing their pathway down his shirt and toward his pants. If it was the spell, she didn't know, but was very happy with the sight of no under shirt under his button up. She kissed every inch that was bared to her all the way down his chest and stomach, her hands following down. She undid his belt quickly and made quick work of his slacks.

He sat up and took off his shirt and then reached out to her. He managed to find her face and pulled her back to him for a hot blooded kiss. She smiled against his lips and nipped at the bottom lip. He opened his mouth and her tongue met his. They both fell back into the bed, Ruby still keeping her perch over his hips. Soon, his shirt that had adorned her figure was on the floor, along with her shorts and underwear. He was stripped of his last article as well and Ruby knelt over him, her eyes locked on his in the small bit of light her eyes could pick up.

"I love you," he said quietly to her, his eyes looked into hers without him even knowing and his hands settled over her hips, "I always have."

She lowered herself down on him and they both moaned at the friction and completion they felt. When she felt him wholly fill her she leaned over him, chest to chest and put her face next to his, "I love you so much. No one will ever know or understand, except you. You are my perfect mate."

He moaned in agreement and the both began to move with one another. She pushed herself up a little and held her hands against his chest for support. His hands gripped lightly at her hips as he pushed up against her down thrusts. Ruby threw her head back as the rhythm became faster, his grip harder and his voice gruffer as he spelled out his love for her. Her fingers curled against his chest as she panted and the wolf in her wanted to howl as her insides clenched and she was thrown over the edge of pleasure.

"Red…" he grounded out between his teeth, "Red, I- I…"

"Let go," she said as she tried to gain her breath back. His hips still rocked against her as she felt another pressure build with in her center, "It's okay… let go…"

Archie suddenly flipped her under him and pulled her legs up to his shoulders. He pushed deep and she called out his name as a new place in her was reached. He felt his end coming and sped his thrusts, still ever careful to not hurt her. Her hands gripped at his forearms as her peak was in sight.

"Jiminy!" she yelled out as she fell over a second time. This time he followed her immediately after.

"Red!" he yelled into the air of the bedroom.

As their minds and hearts came back down to earth, he gently brought her legs back down to the bed and crawled up the bed to lie next to her. He nuzzled her neck, much like she would do with him, and then kissed her jaw and lips. She smiled and laughed lightly from the after affects of their love making. She curled her hand in his hair and turned to face him; his arms immediately wrapped around her form and brought her closer to him.

She put her nose next to his and whispered against his lips, "I love it when you are alpha in bed."

He chuckled with her and kissed her lightly before adding, "I was mistaken."

"About what?"

"I would have missed this the most."

Ruby immediately laughed and pulled the top cover over them before she drew him in for another kiss.

* * *

The diner had never sounded so somber, or quiet. The only noise that was prevalent was the scratching of the dining wear and the ceramic plates. A large table was set in the middle of the dinner, composed of all the small tables that would usually be separated during normal business days. Mary Margaret and David sat close to one another, as did Gold and Belle. Belle and Mary Margaret sat side by side to give each other strength and in turn hoped to give that to their friend, should she even arrive. Marco sat on the other side of David and kept looking at his grasped hands in front of him. It wasn't fair. First he had lost his boy, and now his best friend. Emma and Hook sat by quietly and tried not to say much of anything, more like watching over those already mourning. Emma still couldn't wrap her mind around the fact that the man, the conscience of them all, was gone. Henry sat quiet on her other side and she held his hand tight. Mother Superior showed up to give what words she could to those that had lapsed into grief.

"I know that we should say something, I just don't know what…" Mary Margaret said softly and looked down at her soup bowl, not even hungry.

Granny was busy closing the blinds around the diner and looked out at the street to watch for two certain witches that have their come up pence to look forward to, "There isn't much to say, is there?"

"Is Ruby coming today?" Belle asked Granny and squeezed Gold's hand.

"As far as I know, she was," Granny nodded, "She wanted to have a war table."

"It may not be such a bad idea," Mary Margaret said in a carefully measured tone and looked at David before she swept her eyes over all her friends around her, "I will not let them take another friend. No one else… this is a promise."

"I agree," Emma said in a strong tone, "I will not lose my family to them now that I have them back. I have fought all my life for a family and now that I have one, they will not take anyone else."

"I am glad you feel that way."

The full group turned and saw Ruby enter from the kitchens. She held a soft and sad smile on her face and looked at the people around the table. She was wearing a toned down red, flowing shirt with her black jeans with her black leather jacket over it. She looked like she was in mourning with the rest of them, but ready to dish out whatever she could.

"Ruby…. How are you?" Belle asked and immediately shook her head at the idiocy of the question, "Sorry, not the thing to ask."

Ruby shook her head, "No, you're okay to ask. I am better and ready to fight… if that is the way we are heading."

"We didn't start it," Mary Margaret shook her head and clenched her jaw, "But we will end it."

"Well, if we are going into the fight, we may need a surprise player," Ruby said and looked at Granny who locked the door and nodded to tell her that all the blinds were drawn and no one else could see in.

"Who are you talking about?" Hook asked with a smirk, "I think that I would be surprise enough, don't you?"

"They already expect you," Ruby bit toward him and shook her head, "I was thinking about someone they take as no threat."

"Like who?" Gold asked with a raise of the brow.

"Someone they already thought to be dead," a voice said from behind Ruby.

"It… can't be," Mary Margaret muttered and stood from her chair.

Archie came out from the kitchen and wrapped an arm around Ruby's waist as she smiled brightly. She wove her fingers through his, which lay gently on her waist. He smiled down at her as she bent her head back to rest on his shoulder.

"Archie!" Marco was up and out of his chair before anyone else. He ran to his friend and enveloped not only Archie, but also Ruby in a rough and strong embrace. He laughed into his friend's shoulder between Archie and Ruby, "My friend! I thought we had lost you!"

Archie chuckled as Marco stepped back, "For minute there, I thought you had too."

Ruby took a second to step away from Archie before everyone started to surround him with hugs and welcome backs. Mary Margaret and Belle both hugged the man warmly and then flanked Ruby on both sides as the others took their turn. David hugged him in a way a brother would welcome back another, while Henry nearly jumped into Archie's arms. Archie laughed fondly at the young boy and hugged him tight. At the end of the line, Gold held out his hand and shook it in a tight grip with Archie.

"It's good to see you back, cricket," Gold offered with a nod, "It's not every day we see someone survive Cora."

"Isn't that the truth?" Hook muttered and the two once enemies connected eyes in silent agreement.

"Question…" Emma pointed one of her hands up, "How did you survive?"

"What everyone saw was Cora turning me back into cricket form. She took my humanity away," Archie explained and looked over at Ruby, "Which is exactly what I had been trying to avoid."

Ruby walked from the comfort of her two friends to glue herself to Archie's side once again, "She didn't kill him, like you all thought."

"And you got away?" Emma asked and everyone started to gravitate toward the table again.

"I have had my experiences with cricket cages," he shrugged and hoped that it was a good enough answer.

"But you were still a cricket?" Emma kept the questions up.

"What I think she is trying to get to is how you became a man once again," Hook added and patted Emma's hand.

"That… is a good question," Archie nodded and sat down in one of the last seats with Ruby right next to him, nearly curling into his side, "When I escaped, I went back home as fast as my wings could carry me. Ruby was there and after convincing her it was me, I turned back into a man."

"Just like that?" Belle lifted a brow this time and shot a look at Ruby, "Are you sure there wasn't a kiss involved?"

"What are you talking about?" Ruby asked with a look on her face that said yes, there was in fact a kiss.

"I am talking about true love's kiss," Belle teased her friend and then looked around the table, "It could break any curse."

At that, the table went a bit quiet and Ruby entangled her fingers with Archie's yet again.

"That wouldn't make sense," Archie shook his head and looked down at Ruby, "I mean, yes, I believe with all my heart that Ruby is my true love, but… me being a cricket, wasn't a curse. It was my wish come true from when we were still in the Enchanted Forest."

"It all depends on how you look at it," Mother Superior spoke up for the first time during the meeting. All eyes turned to her and she rose her face and looked pointedly at Archie, "You told me that you didn't want that life anymore. You wished to stay as you are now for the one that you loved."

"That's true," Archie didn't argue.

"Therefore, being a cricket… that would have been your curse," she elaborated, "Cora knew that. She used it against you. Ruby saved you from it. True love's kiss is the most powerful of all magic. Love… can conquer even those curses that were once wishes."

"So now what's the plan?" Ruby asked and looked toward the royal couple.

"We take our surprise," Mary Margaret looked at Archie and then stood at the front of the table with David at her side.

"… and we give them the fight they have been wanting. They can't defeat us if we are together," David finished. Everyone nodded around the table. Marco beamed with happiness and clapped his hand over Archie's shoulder.

Gold stood up and looked at the rest of the group, "Charming and I have gone over some details and counter spells. I think that we should all be aware of their ramifications. Be prepared… Cora will not go down easily. Neither will Regina with her mother dearest at her side."

"Let's just hope that we have something over them that will be enough to take them down," Emma mumbled.

"We do," Gold smiled a little to himself and looked up at Emma, "Miss Swan, I do believe that I have a trick to show you."

Ruby smirked at the movement towards taking the witches down and showed off her very sharp canines, "I know that the wolf is itching for a good fight."

* * *

**A/N**: Just two more chapters to go, folks. This one is going to be one of my favorites for a while and I hope you all enjoyed as well. Now, on to the last couple of chapters...


	20. Chapter 19: Final Fight

**Chapter Nineteen**: **Final Fight**

Ruby stood in front of one of the long mirrors in the Bed and Breakfast. She had decided that a very long and thoughtful search through her wardrobe would be needed. They were going to go against Cora and Regina, a fight to the death, in just a few hours. She had hoped that she would find some good, sturdy clothes to help her mobility and also give her some kind of protection. All she could find were her leather pants and jacket with a heavy red top. Given, she was going to turn into her wolf form during the fight, and at that point, her clothing would not matter. She put on her red cape over the clothing she had and took a large sigh.

A knock on the door frame brought her eyes over to Archie who was leaning just inside her bedroom doorway. He was wearing a dark button up with his leather vest over it. His lower half was clad in a dark colored pair of jeans; his trusty umbrella was propped to the side against her vanity. Ruby couldn't help but smile and stare just a few moments longer with the thought that he looked good in them.

He cleared his throat and she looked back up at his eyes, "Any progress?"

"This is as good as I am going to get," she shrugged and looked down at her arms with the leather jacket.

He smiled and walked into the room. He held out a talisman on a thin chain out to her, "It's from Gold. He says that this is going to help with the potency of most of the spells that Regina and Cora have in their arsenal."

"What about you?" she asked as he lifted the chain toward her.

He put it over her head quickly and then showed her one that he was wearing already with a thicker chain, "Already have one."

As the talisman settled on her chest, she looked at the matching one on his, just under his vest. She put a hand over it and looked up at his eyes, "I really don't want you out there tonight."

He put a hand over the one on his chest and put his other hand to her face, "I want to fight by your side."

"You've never been a fighter," she shook her head and looked down between them with a slight frown, "A voice of reason, yes, but not a fighter."

"I don't know about that," he smirked a little at her with furrowed brows and brought her face back up. He searched her eyes and took a deep breath, "I fought to leave my parents. I fought to raise Gepetto the best that I could. I fought to bring Pinocchio back to his father through very big odds. I fought with the coward in myself over many things that I already knew the answer to… and I fought to love you the way you should be loved. I can say for a fact that I am very much a fighter."

She smiled lovingly up at him, "But not in a physical sense."

"I will fight in whatever sense I must to make sure that you and I have the ending that we deserve," he said in a deeper voice that only made appearances when he was angry, trying to make a point or when he was making love to her. His 'serious, no nonsense voice' she called it, "A happy one."

She put on her own serious face and raised both of her hands up to pull at his collar toward her a few times, "Promise me that you will come home to me. That I will have you back in my arms safe and sound when this is over."

"I promise," he said in a strong voice.

"You never promise something you can't guarantee," she reminded him.

"I will do everything in my power to come back to you, if you do the same for me," he added.

"I promise," she said back.

He leaned down and kissed her as his arms wrapped around her waist to pull her closer. She, in turn, moved her arms around his neck and pulled herself up to meet him. For blissful moments there was nothing else, no one else; just the two of them in one another's arms and presence with no upcoming battle and no imminent doom. At the end of the kiss they leaned against one another's foreheads and stayed there as long as they could in one another's embrace.

Someone cleared their throat from Ruby's door and she looked over to find Granny with her crossbow in her arms, "We need to meet the others."

Ruby frowned with a nod. Granny left them to head down the stairs and the two lovers stayed only a moment longer before they followed her down.

* * *

Hours later found the group of fairytale heroes were on the out skirts of the graveyard. If Cora and Regina were still hiding in the crypt, then they would draw them out and end this once and for all. David squeezed Mary Margaret's hand and looked into her eyes. She nodded back at him and squeezed affectionately back. Both husband and wife looked to the side at their daughter who nodded bravely to her parents. Hook was at her side, sharpening the tip of his hook and watched the edge of the graveyard carefully. Gold was behind them with magic already sparking at the ends of his fingers. He had left Belle behind in a safe place. As much as he knew she could defend herself if needed, he didn't want to take the chance here. Young Henry was with her, the job of protecting and taking care of both Belle and Pongo made him stand straight and proud. Toward the back, Ruby and Archie were right next to one another, with Granny right behind them with her trusty crossbow and Marco to her side. He was a great asset in a pinch if they had to make something quickly during the fight. In the very back were three out of the seven dwarves with their axes in tow. Three worked at the mines for extra magic dust just in case they needed a back up, while Sneezy still thought he was only Mister Clark.

"Do we know the plan?" Emma asked as she turned around to the rest of the group.

"Easy enough," Grumpy said with the lift of his ax, "We kill the witches."

"Cora cannot live any longer," Mary Margaret said in a soft voice, "And as much as I don't want to resort to bloodshed, I will not allow them to come after my friends or family again."

"Believe me, bloodshed is the only way to ensure that with Cora in the mix," Hook said before he blew on his hook and looked at it appreciatively. He looked at Emma who sighed deep.

"Then let's get this finished," Emma said quietly and nodded to the group.

Each group split off into threes. Mary Margaret left with David and Doc toward the left side of the main crypt. Granny nodded to Happy and Marco who were to follow her and hugged Ruby before she set off. Emma and Gold looked at one another and then to Ruby who was to join them.

"Careful out there, love bug," she said quickly and kissed Archie briefly.

"I will," he agreed and returned a quick kiss, "You too."

"Don't worry, sister," Grumpy said with a smirk, "I'll take care of him."

"I will be sure to keep an extra eye open for him as well," Hook said with a smile which was met with two disapproving stares from Archie and Ruby.

"That's what I worry about," Ruby said and looked pointedly at Grumpy. He nodded in understanding and Ruby took off her cape to form into the wolf under the light of the full moon. Emma took the cloak and tucked it into a ball that fit into a small satchel, enchanted to hold more than it should by Gold. The wolf looked back at Archie once again and whined, _"Come back to me."_

"I will," he reassured her once more before he turned to his group led by the Grumpy.

Most of the groups found positions close to the crypt, but not close enough to be spotted. Emma and Gold nodded to Ruby who shook out her fur and slowly crept toward the crypt. She wanted to be the bait since they were expecting her. She took a slow stride toward the crypt and then began to pace back and forth a few feet from it. She growled and kept sniffing at the air. She definitely knew that Regina was close. She could smell that awful perfume that she always wore, not to mention that distinct smell of her magic.

"Not going to come any closer?" Cora called out as the door of the crypt opened.

Ruby growled and snarled at the two women who walked out into the full moon light.

"Here I thought you wanted revenge," Regina snickered and leaned forward toward Ruby with a fake pout, "Did we take away your little man?"

Ruby's hackles rose and she snapped at them with a deep glare.

Archie held his breath as he watched the interaction with anxiety. He couldn't help but chuckle shortly at what Ruby just barked out.

"What are you laughing for?" Grumpy asked with his eyes also on the standoff.

"I keep forgetting that no one can understand her while she's like this," Archie shook his head, his eyes never wavering from Ruby, "She said that there is nothing little about me."

"Really?" Hook chuckled and Archie blushed as he made the connection on how that may have sounded, "You learn something new each day."

"Come get your revenge, wolf," Cora waved at the animal before her, "We thought that you would take your chance at the full moon. You're useless any other time."

"_I'll show you useless!"_ Ruby snapped again and pushed back on her legs as if she was going to spring at them. She jumped, but not far enough to connect with the witches, a good move since Regina sent a wall of flame before them, and action that would have definitely incapacitated Ruby. She quickly paced around the two, _"Thought you'd resort to tricks…"_

"Smart canine," Cora said in a low voice and then shook her head, "Not smart enough if you think you stand a chance against us."

"She's smarter than you think," Emma said as she walked from her hiding place and stood next to Ruby with her arms over her chest.

"Miss Swan," Regina sneered, "So eager to abandon Henry yet again?"

"Oh, I am not abandoning him," Emma shook her head with a confident smile and unsheathed a sword that was attached to her side, "I am going to stop you from hurting him again."

"I would never hurt _my_ son," Regina bit back.

"How do you think it made him feel when you took away Archie like you did?" Emma said in a dead pan voice, "It tore him apart. No mother would do that to their son."

"No mother would abandon them to a complete stranger, either!" Regina yelled and tossed a fireball at Emma and Ruby. Ruby bounded out of the way, the pendant tight around her wolf neck, unseen through her fur. Emma struck at the fire ball and sent it back to the two witches who shielded themselves from their own spell.

"You're going to have to do better than that," Emma said with a flick of the sword.

"I see that Gold's been helping you again," Regina tatted.

"More than you know."

"Emma!" Hook rushed forward and tackled her to the ground as a large swipe of air rushed above their heads. They looked back to see Cora leaning forward after her completed spell. Hook looked down at her with a smart smirk, "You got watch them both, darling."

"Hello, Hook. You couldn't pass the opportunity to come back at me, could you?" Cora smiled at them and leaned back into her normal stance. She then looked out over the graves and trees, "How many others are you hiding? How many others are to die tonight?"

"No more death," David stepped out with his sword shining in his hand, Mary Margaret not too far behind with a short sword of her own. All the dwarves came from their hiding places after them with their axes out and ready. Granny too stood up and took aim with her crossbow right behind Ruby.

"Look at this turn out," Cora said with a small smile while Regina looked a little more than anxious. This was fairly close to what her nightmare had been not too long ago.

"You are outnumbered and overridden," David said clearly and pointed his sword toward the two, "Give up."

"You don't understand, do you?" Cora tilted her head to the side, "Magic always overrides brute force."

Regina looked to her mother and then quickly shot out her hand toward the group, spraying the figures in all directions.

Ruby landed close to Archie's spot and looked at him with a warning growl, _"Stay down. Now is not the time."_

Ruby pushed herself back up and ran at Regina. She pushed the witch down and snapped at her with her large jaws. Before she could sink her teeth in, she was blasted away yet again, this time by Cora. With that distraction, David rushed forward and swung at the older witch. She held up an arm that acted like another sword and began to flourish and lunge with the prince.

Emma took this time to go after Regina, who brought around her own bubble of protection against swords. Emma sliced through the bubble and Regina barely had time to get out of the way before her sword hit the stone beneath her feet.

"Gold _has_ been generous, hasn't he?" Regina said and materialized her own weapon as she pushed Emma back.

"I think you just crossed him once too often," Emma gritted her teeth and swiped at her again.

Mary Margaret joined the battle with David, both trying to get a swipe in at Cora. At one time they both were swiped away from her with a whirlwind and then fell once a wall of force pushed at them. They tried to get up from the force, but it kept them glued to the ground. Hook then took over and began to swing hard with both his sword and hook at the older witch. Regina was able to get enough space between her and Emma where she also sent out a wall of force which sent Emma sprawling over the ground and into the three dwarves that were coming at Regina.

Granny took a shot with her crossbow and it flew toward Regina. The younger witch caught the small arrow in an invisible cloud of magic and then shot it back at Granny. It hit her in the shoulder and she immediately fell back with a yell. Ruby watched in horror as her grandmother hit the ground and Doc raced over as fast as he could to help her, Marco not too far behind.

"_NO!"_ Ruby howled and rushed at Regina once again, careful of her spells that came at her. With speed and the help from the talisman around her neck, she was able to get through Regina's protection spells and latched on to Regina's arm.

"Get off of me!" Regina screamed and pushed her hand, charged with black magic, into Ruby's chest. A loud yelp penetrated the air and Ruby fell to the ground, mere feet from Regina. Regina walked slowly over to the shaking, injured wolf and raised her hand again above her head to deal a death blow, "You know, I never liked dogs."

Ruby looked up at the hand and growled, _"I never liked bitches."_

"Red! No!" a voice yelled out among the chaos.

Regina pushed her arm forward, delivering the magic she knew would kill the wolf, but instead it collided with a round, black shield that looked nothing more than an umbrella. The magic immediately bounced around the umbrella and then back at her. Archie knelt behind his umbrella that had covered not only himself, but Ruby as well. Only once the pressure of the magic was gone and Regina was yelling in pain, did Archie bring down his umbrella, shaking it as if shaking off the last bit of moisture from a down pour.

"You?!" Regina covered the part of her face that was burned from her own magic and pointed at Archie, "You're dead!"

"On the contrary, Regina," he looked at her in the eyes, "I am very much alive."

"Your umbrella…"

"Somewhere along the way got enchanted," he smiled and swung it around a little in his hand as Ruby looked up at him in pride, "I was wondering why it never really showed its age."

"Stupid insect!" she screamed, ready to tear into him with her own hands.

Before she moved a sharp pain shot through her and she looked down to see a large hole in her side where another magic had burrowed through. She looked to her side to see Gold with his hand out toward her and his fingertips still brimming with purple light.

"I thought that… you said you were my friend," she said in a whisper and her legs buckled beneath her as she fell to the ground. She looked up at Gold as he stood over her, his hands calmly on his cane, "… you used… me…"

"Don't I use everyone at some point, dearie?" he asked her.

Her eyes softly drifted closed as she lost consciousness. When there was no sound from her daughter, Cora threw the pirate captain back and took in the sight of her daughter's charred body beneath Rumplestiltskin. She screamed at the sight in rage and ran toward her daughter. She made an unconscious throw of magic at Gold, but he vanished and reappeared over by the Charmings who were trying to get up from her stationary spell. Cora leaned over Regina and cried out as she knew not even her magic could bring back the dead.

"You killed my daughter!" she roared and turned her head toward Gold, David and Mary Margaret. She got up from her daughter's side and began to run at them, when Emma stepped in front of her.

"It's over," she growled at the older witch.

Cora looked over the others in the vicinity. They were beaten, they were injured, but they were getting back up and they were ready to fight again. She shook her head, unable to take defeat. Not for herself and not for her daughter.

"It will never be over," Cora shook her head and a purple mist began to form around her.

"No," Emma said in a low voice and shot her hand out to Cora before she could disappear. She grabbed a hold of something inside of Cora and held tight.

Cora gasped and shook her head, "That's impossible…I never keep my heart where others hold theirs…"

"I know," Emma nodded and her hand inside glowed a bright gold and she brought out her hand. Clutched in her hand was a dark red and black heart, barely emitting any light. She looked down at it and then at Cora, "But you got it back once Regina came back into your life. I just had to call for it."

"You… know magic," Cora made the connection.

"I know love," Emma corrected her and crushed the heart in her hand, "And the power that it has."

The light around the heart began to glow brighter and Cora knelt to the ground, unable to bare the pain of it. The black veins trembled under the weight of the golden glow and suddenly the heart and light exploded in a burst of golden sparks. Cora watched as the heart floated down to the ground, her eyes turned dark and she too fell to the dry ground.

Emma stumbled back and was caught by Hook's hand at her back, "Easy there, love. That was a great trick. I couldn't get her heart, how could you?"

"Love captures any heart," she shrugged and held her head.

Immediately her mother and father come at a run and envelop her in a strong hug. She hugged them back tightly and looked at the others. Doc had put Granny's arm in a sling and Marco was holding her up. Happy was helping Grumpy up from the ground nearby the crypt from the last push from Regina. Archie stood on his own power while Ruby limped in her wolf form beside him. Gold walked calmly to the group and leaned heavily on his cane. As much as he doesn't like to show it, he did use a lot of power on the spell that killed Regina.

"Let's get out of here," Emma said to her parents.

"Not before he make sure these two do not come back," Gold growled and looked at the two women on the ground.

"They're dead," Emma said plainly, "I would think that would stick."

Gold threw her an annoyed glance and then waved his hand over to two women. They were immediately incased in marble. The marble coffins suddenly shook and then started to dig themselves into the ground, deep into the earth. Even after they could no longer be seen from the surface, everyone could still hear the earth moving below them.

"Where did you send them?" Emma asked.

"To their tombs below us," Gold answered simply and then looked at Emma, "The Mills Family tombs are more extensive then you would ever think."

"It's over," Archie breathed out and held his hand over Ruby's back.

"It's over," Emma agreed and pulled out Ruby's cloak.

She handed it over to him, to which he pulled over Ruby and she stood up as a human and cradled her left arm over her chest. Ruby leaned against Archie who wrapped his arms around her.

"I say, let's get out of here and get something to eat," Ruby said breathless.

"I agree," Hook nodded and put an arm out form Emma to take.

"Nice try," Emma shook her head and walked between her two parents.

"A man will keep trying," Hook smirked and followed the rag tag team of heroes to the diner.


	21. Epilogue

**A/N:** So, here it is... The last of my first multi-chapter red cricket fiction. I hope you all enjoyed it and will continue to enjoy my others that I have put out there. Please review and as always, happy reading.

**Epilogue****: Ever After**

Ruby felt the heat of the sun fall over her face and she frowned before she turned away and into the warmth of another body. She hummed happily as the other body wrapped her closer to them and out of the way of the sun. Her left hand ran over a bare chest, the gold band gleaming just so and a pair of lips kissed the top of her head.

"Are you awake, or just repositioning?" Archie asked into Ruby's hair.

"I am not answering, I am still asleep," she mumbled into his shoulder.

He chuckled a little and ran a hand through her hair and then down her arm, "We have to get up soon. You have an appointment with Belle to keep and I said that I would help Granny with a few things around here."

"But it's so nice and comfortable in bed with you," she said with her eyes still tightly shut as if that would make everything else go away. Her arms tightened their hold on him as he began to move away from her, "Jiminy… please."

He sighed heavily, put on his glasses and looked at the large clock at the side of the room, "Ten more minutes and then I am shoving you into the shower, Red."

She paused and let a wicked smile cross her features before he turned her head to look up at him, "Are you coming in with me?"

"You are insatiable," he said with his own smile and kissed her.

The ten minutes passed too quickly to Ruby's liking. True to his word, Archie got out of bed and rounded it to help Ruby up. She rolled to her other side and scooted to the side of the bed. A very large, heavily pregnant stomach was the cause of such effort just to get out of bed. She grabbed his arms as he held them out for her and let him pull her up. She huffed and put her hands on the lump.

"I feel so fat," she pouted and rubbed at the stomach she had never had.

"I think you look more beautiful each day," Archie told her and kissed her nose and then her lips after she smiled up at him. He tilted his head to the side, "Did I say the right thing?"

"Did you mean it?" she asked with a rise of her brows.

"Do I ever lie?" he asked back with the same lift of the brows.

"Good answer," she nodded and he walked with her to the shower so they both could get ready for the day.

As she dried herself off right out of the shower and got dressed she began another topic while he put on one of his plain shirts and work slacks, "I wonder what it's going to be."

"You're the one who wanted to wait for so long," Archie smiled at her and then looked at the lump under her large maternity dress. She still maintained her small frame during her pregnancy and the stomach that she now supported looked a little misplaced on her. For the life of him, Archie couldn't see anything wrong with it. That was his child she was carrying. He was happy whatever it may be as long as it's healthy.

"I wasn't the only one," Ruby reminded him and poked at him with her toothbrush before she put the toothpaste on it, "Belle wants to know hers now too."

"Thus why you are going together," he rolled his eyes playfully and kissed her cheek, "I am going to go downstairs and see where Granny wants me. I will see you before you leave."

"Yes, you will," she nodded and he left her in the bathroom.

She carefully, as she termed it, 'waddled' out of the room and carefully made her way down the stairs. The pictures along the hallway showed their wedding day and the days that they celebrated different events. There was the day after Cora and Regina were defeated, the day that Mary Margaret and David found out that they were expecting another addition, the day that Emma finally let Hook court her officially (much to David's chagrin), and the day that they had found more fairy dust. They still had not found a way home, but it was close. She could feel it.

At the bottom of the stairs Pongo was jumping in excitement as he wound himself through her legs and was careful not to jump on her, "Hello, good boy! I am happy to see you too."

As she baby talked the Dalmatian, granny came around the corner with a hammer in her hand, "Morning, Ruby. How's my great grand baby doing today?"

"Just fine," she patted her stomach, "Heavy as ever."

"You're almost there," Granny reminded her and patted her stomach. As she did the baby kicked a few times and she smiled wide, "My goodness, that child has your strength, doesn't it?"

"You have no idea," she huffed and followed her Granny to the front of the Bed and Breakfast, "Jiminy said that you had some work for him today."

"Room 25 is having some plumbing and air problems," she said with a nod.

Both women turned the corner and saw Archie pushing his sleeves up as he talked with Belle at the door. He noticed the two women and then pointed to the visitor, "Look who just got here."

"Hi, Belle," Ruby smiled at her and kissed her cheek. Belle, though not as far along as Ruby, was also sporting a pregnant belly and rubbed it constantly.

"Are you ready to go?" Belle asked happily.

"Yeah, let's get out of here before my hubby gets covered in plumbing things," Ruby nodded and hugged her Granny and then kissed Archie goodbye, "It's a good thing you aren't seeing anyone at your office today."

"That's enough," he chuckled at her and pushed her toward the door, "I will see you later. Love you."

"Love you too," she called back and walked out the door. The two women walked down the street and Ruby smiled at her friend as they walked toward the hospital, "I was surprised not to see Gold at your side. He has been like glue since you two found out you were expecting."

"He's been a bit better," Belle nodded and shrugged, "Trying to baby proof the house now that it's settling in that the little one is coming. He doesn't care what sex the baby is and is happy with either or. I think that he secretly wants a girl to coddle. Since I am going to find out the baby's sex today, he has gone nearly mad with preparation. When I left he was going over several baby safety cabinets with his magic touch. I can only imagine what it would be like when we get back to the enchanted forest and to the castle."

"Glad I won't have to deal with that much space," Ruby smiled and looked up at the clear sky, "I don't think Archie and I will have anything more that what we have here. I don't want to have a big house. Just something close to the woods, so I can run."

They arrived at the hospital not too long after that and waited in a room for a few of the nurses to come in. Both women looked at one another as two separate nurses came in and put the gel on their tummies.

"Your curiosity get the best of you, Mrs. Hopper?" her nurse asked and put the sonogram to her stomach.

"More like someone didn't want to be alone," Ruby looked over at Belle who was too busy looking at her own screen.

"Well, Mrs. Gold, are you ready?" the other nurse asked. Belle nodded her head frantically and bit her lip. The nurse chuckled at her enthusiasm and tapped on the screen, "Congratulations, you are going to have a healthy baby girl."

"A girl!" Belle squealed and looked over at Ruby, "Rum is going to be so excited!"

"I bet," Ruby chuckled at her friend's excitement.

"Hold still for a moment," her nurse instructed her and moved the equipment over her, "Well, this is interesting."

"Good interesting, or bad interesting?" Ruby said in an unsure voice.

"It's all in how you look at it," the nurse said and took a snapshot of the picture on the screen so she could point out her findings. She smiled at Ruby and took a deep breath, "I hope you are ready, because you are not just expecting one baby… you're expecting triplets."

"What?" Ruby's eyes bulged and her mouth hung open.

"Ruby, that's great!" Belle smiled from her table and looked at her friend's screen, "No wonder you are so much bigger."

"Thanks, Belle," Ruby said dryly and looked at the screen again, "Are you sure?"

"Yup," the nurse drew an invisible circle around each head of the babies, "One, two and there is three."

The nurse saved the picture and then moved the sonogram to take another picture, "It looks like you will have a son and two daughters."

"Wow," Ruby smiled and couldn't help the tug on her mouth, "And here I thought it was only going to be one. I am going to have a whole litter."

"Well, you are a wolf," Belle mentioned from her bed and looked at the pictures that the nurse had printed out for her.

"Thanks again, Belle," Ruby rolled her eyes and held the pictures that were printed out.

The two ladies walked back to the Bed and Breakfast with huge smiles on their faces. Belle said farewell at the end of the block to head back home. Ruby watched her until she turned into the pawn shop where Gold would be now that it was later in the day.

Ruby walked with the pictures in her hands and into the Bed and Breakfast. She looked around and then listened for any noise. There was a large thunk and then some quiet cursing from above her. Definitely 25.

She smiled and then called out to the house, "I'm back!"

Granny was down the stairs in a flash, followed closely by Pongo and Archie. All three stood at the foot of the stairs while Ruby stood with a smile on her face.

"Well?" Granny asked and looked at her granddaughter.

"You might want to sit down," she said and motioned toward their private living room. Both Archie and Granny sat down as she opened the envelop with the pictures and she bit her lip in nervous excitement. She looked at them both and then broke into a huge grin, "They told me something that I was not expecting."

"Don't keep us in suspense. It has to be good if you are still sitting there with that grin on your face," Granny began to frown at her.

"We aren't expecting _a_ baby," Ruby shook her head and her two audience members looked confused. Ruby chuckled and turned the picture over with the three heads circled, "We are expecting three."

"Three?!" Granny asked excited and whooped with Ruby's nod of the head. She immediately grabbed her phone and called Marco with the good news, "You better make sure you can handle the work load, because we are ordering two new cradles!"

Archie was silent and stood up. He walked directly to Ruby and looked her in the eyes, "Three?"

"That's what I said," she smiled up at him, "When you knock someone up, you do it well. We are going to have a whole litter."

He blushed at the bluntness of her statement and then put his hands on either side of her swollen belly. He chuckled happily and kissed it through her dress. He looked up at her with a brightest grin she's ever seen on him, "You've given me a family, Red."

She ran a hand through his hair, "No, Jiminy… we did that together. Just like everything else worthwhile."

He stood up and kissed her passionately. She had given him his world and finally something to live his own life for. In return, she felt the last missing piece of her life simply shift into place.

END


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